


The Warmth of Love

by aladdinboy



Category: Guardians of Childhood & Related Fandoms, Guardians of Childhood - William Joyce, How to Train Your Dragon (Movies), Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Anal Sex, Cumswap, Cute, Fluff, Frostcup - Freeform, Hijack, Ice puns!, Implied Astrid x Heather, Kawaii, Links to recipes in chapter summaries, Lots of Sex, M/M, OC Dragon - Freeform, Oral Sex, Post-HTTYD2, Sex, Slightly expanded ROTG mythos, Smut, Snoggletog, Takes place in Viking Times, Tasty Food, Time Travel(ish), did I mention it's cute?, mild crossdressing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-09
Updated: 2017-08-01
Packaged: 2018-10-29 23:48:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 39,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10864662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aladdinboy/pseuds/aladdinboy
Summary: Hiccup's first full year as chief and already things are going badly. It won't stop snowing, his relationship with Astrid is falling apart, and to top everything off, he finds a mysterious pale boy in the woods. But when he falls head-over-metal-foot in love with the boy, will things get better... or worse?Warning for cuteness overload and smutty sex scenes.





	1. The Iceman Cometh

**Author's Note:**

> Alrighty, here we go! An all-new fanfic. I've been working on this fic for well over a year now, and I can't tell you how happy I am to finally be posting it. A couple of quick notes before we get started:
> 
> Cover art is by the wonderful ChibiSasori1827 on DeviantArt, and is used with permission.  
> I know that AO3 auto-generates ebooks for you to read on your various e-readers, but if you use an epub-compatible reader, I have a hand-crafted ebook available at https://www.dropbox.com/sh/gg1ad3tzlemk2qu/AAB1twm7urAmFSz-9umru3yKa?dl=0
> 
> For more chapter-by-chapter notes, find me on DeviantArt, at aladdin-boy.deviantart.com
> 
> # 

This is Berk. It’s a two-hour flight from despair, and a few leagues north of insanity. The few flowering plants that grow here are ugly, scratchy, and reek of rotted meat. The people that grow here are even more so. I normally tell visitors from other tribes that it snows nine months out of the year, and hails the other three.

But not this year. No, not by a long shot. This year, my first full year as chief, the first year where I am wholly responsible for the wellbeing of every member of my tribe… this year, the gods have decided that it must snow _perpetually_. That’s right. It’s as if someone trapped a blizzard, tethered it over our miserable little island, and wandered off. Thankfully, vikings are remarkably good at building sturdy houses with thick walls and massive hearths. It’s kept us warm enough, as long as we stay inside, but our… ‘pets’ have complicated things.

Oh yeah. Other places, they’ve got their dogs and cats, their hawks and falcons. I’ve even heard of some of the more… um, ‘girth-y’ vikings keeping bears as pets. No, here on Berk, we just had to be different. Here, we’ve got _dragons_.

You see, dragons don’t like to be kept holed up in small houses. They like to be free. Take my dragon, Toothless. Well, he’s not so much _my_ dragon as I’m his human. Toothless is a Night Fury, probably the only one of his kind. He’s stubborn, moody, and makes a mess wherever he goes. He’s loyal, brave to the point of absurdity, and rarely actually listens to me. A viking through and through. He’s also my best friend and my most loyal companion.

Toothless gets restless easily, as most dragons do, and, since the cold doesn’t seem to bother him anywhere near as much as it bothers me, he likes to drag me along when he goes hunting for fish.

It was on one of these hunger-driven romps through the snow and ice where I met a strange boy. Gods, if I had known who he was then, how he would challenge everything I thought I knew, I would have… well, actually I’d probably do everything the same.

It was a boring, cold day. The sort of day where vikings look out the window and promptly go back to sleep and wait for something better to come along. Also, the sort of day where Toothless decides smoked cod, salmon jerky, and _rakfisk_ isn’t enough, he wants _fresh_ fish.

“OK, OK, bud!” I mumbled, slipping on my heaviest coat. “Keep your scales on, I’m coming!” Toothless nudged me with his nose, pushing me along. “Alright, there. Where’re we going to today, bud? Spearhead Lake? Skullbash River?” I took Toothless’s low ‘yip’ as a no. “Well, how about the docks? The cove?” Toothless grinned and rocked back and forth on his front legs in agreement. Ah, the cove. A beautiful sunken area just north of Raven Point, where I had first met Toothless. There was a large pond there where some of the best freshwater fish grew on the island. “Sounds good, bud. Let’s go!”

The flight to the cove was quick and uneventful, which, given the weather, was the best kind of flight. Soon Toothless was gorging himself on trout, his tail wiggling happily. As cold as it was, I enjoyed being out of the village. Just me and Toothless, with no villagers to lead or dragons to train. I sat down against a large boulder and pulled out my notebook. My metal foot had been making my hips and back hurt lately, and I’d been working on a design for a new tensioning system. One that didn’t require constant adjusting or greasing. It was nice here, just sitting and sketching designs and listening to Toothless happily romping through the snowdrifts.

_Thwack_! A large snowball hit me in the chest, and I heard Toothless laughing. He had scooped up some snow with his tail, and flung it at me. “Oh, big mistake, bud,” I muttered, dropping my sketchbook and grabbing a hand full of snow. I flung it at him with all my strength. It flew about half the distance between us before plopping pitifully to the ground. Toothless rocked back on his hind legs, laughing hard. “Oh, come on!” I scooped up a large arm full of snow and ran at him, this time hitting him square in the face with the snow. He stopped laughing, and rolled over, using his wing to dump a huge amount of snow on me. Ugh. I tried to get all of the snow out of my hair, but only succeeded in eliciting another round of laughter from Toothless. We continued our little snow fight for a while, but it ultimately turned into a friendly wrestling match. Like always, Toothless won by essentially sitting on me.

Suddenly, he stopped and stood. With a low rumble, he turned and crouched low, his ears perked up and alert. “What is it, bud?” I asked, climbing to my feet. “Do you hear something?” He looked around, searching, and sniffing the air. “What do you smell?” I asked, a little spooked. No large predatory dragons would be out in this weather, nor would any sane vikings (as if there were such a thing). We were protected from the brunt of the weather here in the sunken cove, and the wind whistled ominously above us. Honing in on whatever had caught his attention, Toothless bounded around the lake, and began digging in the snow, glancing back at me frantically. I knew that look. It wasn’t his ‘we’re in danger’ look, it was his ‘someone else is in trouble and we need to help’ look.

I caught up with him on the other side of the lake just as he found what he was digging for. “Oh Thor almighty…” I gasped. It was an arm. A person’s arm. A human arm, sticking out of the snow. Toothless moaned, gently taking the arm in his mouth and pulling. I wasn’t sure whether I was hoping for it to be attached to a person or not, but nothing could have prepared me for what – or rather _who_ – Toothless pulled from the snow. It was a boy, roughly my age, and worryingly thin. His skin was oddly pale and _clean_ , and his hair was white as the snow around us. And whoever he was, he was breathing! He was alive!

“Oh, gods. Oh Odin, this is bad.” I don’t know much about medicine, but he was not shivering, and even Ruffnut and Tuffnut know that lack of shivering is one of the first signs of serious hypothermia. I lifted him off of the snow and propped him against Toothless’s saddle, feeling his cheek. As cold as an iceberg. He stirred a little, his eyes fluttering open briefly at my touch.

“Unhnnhggnggg… T-Tooth…?” His head fell back as he blacked out again.

“Toothless, we’ve got to get him back to the village.” Toothless roared in agreement as I mounted him, and we took off into the howling wind. Panic and curiosity seemed to be battling for control of my mind. How had he known Toothless’s name? Who was he? He wasn’t from Berk, and he wasn’t dressed like a Berserker, a Meathead, or an Outcast. In fact, his clothing was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. I held him tight in my arms, trying to impart some of my body heat to him as we flew over the great hall. “It’s gonna be OK, whoever you are,” I whispered. How long had he been buried in the snow? He looked so weak and frail in my arms.

As soon as we landed in front of my house, I ran inside to stoke the fire. Toothless carried him in, gently sliding him onto the large bench by the hearth before adding his own plasma blast to the fire. After pulling his strange, wet clothes off and wrapping him in our heaviest wool blanket, I sat down near the fireplace and pulled out a map of the Barbaric Archipelago. “Where do you think he could have come from, bud?” I asked. Toothless peered over my shoulder, making unhelpful noises. Whoever the strange boy from the woods was, he was certainly far from home.


	2. Frost Impressions

Who am I? Not long ago I was a Guardian, the Guardian of Fun. My earliest memory after becoming this way was the Moon telling me who I am. Jack Frost. The Winter Spirit. Of course, the moon didn’t tell me much else, certainly nothing that would have been _helpful_ in being a Guardian (not that I’m bitter or anything). Like, for instance, that even though spirits and guardians don’t age, they’re still technically mortal. Or that not all spirits are good. Or, and this seems like a rather important point, that guardians only serve for four hundred and forty four years.

Yes, my name is Jack Frost. Yes, I was the winter spirit. But apparently I wasn’t the first, nor the last, to fill that role. You are probably aware of the big four, the ‘Guardians’: Nicholas ‘Santa’ St. North, Bunnymund the Easter Bunny, Toothiana the Tooth Fairy, and The Sandman. But they’re only the elite of the magical spirits. Oh yeah, there’s plenty of us! There’s Lucius the Leprechaun, King Triton, April Showers, Eros McCupid, and, the oldest, Mother Nature and Father Time. Turns out, they’re just titles, roles to be filled. And, as a gift to those who fill them, Mother Nature and Father Time can send us back to the moment when we became a guardian, so we can return to our former lives.

But nothing is ever that simple. I’d served my time, paid my dues, and said my goodbyes. Father Time opened his portal to send me back: I’d be on the banks of the lake where I drowned, six hours later, healthy and dry and free to live out the rest of my life as a normal person. Unfortunately, that’s when everything went horribly wrong. Remember how I said that not all spirits are good? Well, the worst of the spirits, the exact opposite of good, is Pitch Black. You may know him as the Boogeyman, El Coco, Mètminwi, or Slender Man. The bringer of nightmares, the whisper and creak when you’re alone at night, the chill down your spine when the air ought to be warm. During my tenure as a Guardian, we’d fought him off four times. Each time he kept coming back. He attacked us as I was going through the portal, and threw some sort of black sand bomb at me. It exploded and knocked me backward into the portal.

Who knows what that explosion did. I’m not where I should be. I don’t even know if I’m _when_ I should be. I remember falling, hitting something hard, having snow fall upon me and nearly crush me. I remember hearing, in the faintest of whispers, the Moon. “You’re early.”

Then… the warmth. It was the first time I’d felt warm in years… centuries! I felt warm and dry, and the snow was gone. I opened my eyes slowly, the world fuzzing in and out like a bad TV signal.

“…but no footprints in the snow, he must have fallen…”

“…Could be another rider…”

“…Won’t know anything until he wakes up…”

“…should let me see him…”

I blinked a few times, and everything became clearer. I was in a building, laying on a bench near a massive fire place. There was a guy, dressed like someone from a renaissance fair, on the far side of the room, talking to a blonde girl. Someone was walking around on the floor above us, making heavy creaking sounds through the wood ceiling.

“Hiccup, there’s no one there.”

“Look, I know he’s thin, but he’s not invisible!”

“I’m not sure what… Hiccup, there’s no one else in this room!”

“Oh, for the love of… He’s right there, on the bench, by the fireplace!” The guy sounded frustrated, and a little panicked. I smiled. Visible to only those who believe, _check_.

“Just because your mom is away trading doesn’t mean you can play stupid make-believe games, acting like a child.” The girl sounded bossy, irritating, and equally frustrated.

“Astrid, would I make something like this up?”

“I don’t know, would you?” I couldn’t see the guy’s face, but the girl looked angry.

“No, I wouldn’t. Not with you, not with anyone! You should know that! Toothless found a strange boy in the snow, and now I’m really freaking out because I don’t know if he’s even going to wake up, or who he is, or why you can’t seem to see the _extremely real boy sitting right there by the fireplace_!”

“Whatever. Come get me when you’re done playing make believe, and ready to act like an adult.” The girl turned and stormed out. The guy rubbed his forehead, sighing loudly.

“She’s right, you know,” I said, making him jump. “You are acting like a child.”

He turned around, and I saw his face for the first time. He was much younger than I had assumed, maybe only a few years older than me (well, my biological age). His hair was reddish brown and shaggy, and his eyes were a piercing green. He walked over to me, and I noticed that the lower part of his left leg was missing, just below his knee. He had some sort of steampunk-y mechanical prosthetic foot that made a soft ‘thonk’ noise as he walked.

“You’re awake! Oh, thank you Thor. How’re you feeling?” He sat down in a wooden chair next to me, his bright green eyes watching me like a hawk.

I rubbed my head, which was sore in an alarming number of spots. “Like I fell off a cliff.”

He laughed. “I believe you. You certainly took a nasty fall from _somewhere_.”

“Where… where am I?” I asked, looking around. There weren’t any light fixtures in this room, which I took to be part of a house. Nor was there any glass in any of the windows, and strange squawking sounds floated in from outside. Wherever I was, they must have some pretty amazing tropical birds.

“Oh, of course, sorry. Welcome to the Island of Berk. I’m Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third, Chief of the Hairy Hooligans.”

I kneaded my forehead, confused. This guy with the long, strange name was apparently some sort of chief? Of hooligans? “Sorry, uhm… This may sound like a strange question, but what… what day is it?

“That’s not that strange,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “It’s Winds-Day, the third week past the fall equinox. You’ve probably been out there for quite a while.”

“Right… right… And what year is it?” 

The guy looked at me curiously, as if sizing me up. “Uh… 988?”

I swallowed nervously. I was born in 1684. This wasn’t where, or rather when, I was supposed to be! “And where did you say this is?”

“Berk?”

“Yeah that. Where is it?”

He laughed lightly. “Four degrees east of frostbite, two days north of oblivion… Sorry, just a joke. We’re right by the Meathead Islands, on the Meridian of Misery.”

I blinked. First of all, who would ever name an island ‘Meathead Island’? And secondly, I’d never heard of any of those places! I looked around the room, taking in as many details as I could. Massive shields hung from the walls, everything was made of wood and hammered metal… A horned helmet sat on a nearby table. “Vikings? You’re vikings!?!”

The guy nodded. “And what are you, if not a viking? You’re not a roman, are you?”

I smiled. Time to show off my skills. I wiggled my fingers gently, conjuring a small ball of snow between my hands. It spun and grew larger, nearly the size of a grapefruit before I threw it in the air where it exploded, causing snow to drift down from the ceiling.

“Jökul Frosti…” The guy looked like he was about to faint. “You’re… you’re…”

“Jack Frost?”

“You’re one of the gods! Oh… I’m dead. I’ve died and gone to Valhalla. This isn’t happening.”


	3. Ice To Meet You

All my life I’d been taught that the gods existed, that they lived somewhere far off called Asgard. I was told they occasionally hear our prayers and sometimes, if you’re lucky and worthy and so incredibly _viking_ that you impress the gods, they just might respond. But I’m not exactly a shining example of a viking, nor do I think of myself as particularly lucky. The gods were just something _other_ people dealt with.

So you would understand my shock when I found out that here, in my house, on Berk, was a god. Jökul Frosti, the god of winter and snow.

“Oh, this explains so much…! This… this… This is completely ludicrous! A god. In my… my… Wait.” I brushed the hair out of my eyes, suddenly not so sure about this. “Why were you buried in the snow? Why couldn’t Astrid see you? Why… Why were you barefoot?”

“I dunno, I just never wear shoes. And as amazing as I am,” he smirked, a teasing, lopsided smirk that reminded me of Snotlout. “I’m sorry to say that I’m not a god.”

“Not a god? Then what’s with all this snow falling _in my own living room_!?!” I gestured at the sprinkling of snow still drifting down from the ceiling.

“I _am_ Jack Frost, or Jokey Frosty, or whatever you called me. I’m just not a god. You guys had…” He closed his eyes, thinking hard. “That dude with the hammer? Zeus! No, Thor!”

“There are many gods, Thor among them,” I explained. “So if you’re not a god, what are you?”

“I’m a spirit!” His brilliant blue eyes lit up with excitement. “The winter spirit, guardian of Fun and Merriment.” He sat up and bowed slightly in introduction. Then he noticed that his weird tunic was gone. “Wait… Where’s my sweatshirt?” He lifted the blanket and peered down at his legs. “Where’re my pants!?!” He glared at me, his blue eyes flashing with irritation.

“Sorry, sorry! It's just that you were soaking wet and freezing cold!” I jumped up and grabbed his clothes from where they hung by the fire. “I’ll… uh… I’ll just go upstairs while you, uh, get dressed.”

“Good,” he said coldly, apparently upset that I had undressed him while he was unconscious.

Upstairs, I sat down in the chair near my bed, feeling a little faint. Toothless padded over to me, nudging my shoulder questioningly. “No, I don't think he's an enemy, so we’re good on that front,” I muttered, not really paying much attention to Toothless. I’d instructed him to wait up here until I knew that the strange boy from the woods wasn’t a spy from another tribe. We’d had our fair share of problems with that in the past. I looked at Toothless, completely at a loss for what to do. A god… no, a ‘spirit’, was in my house.

“Hey, so have you guys discovered indoor plumbing yet? ‘Cause until I figure out how to get back, I’d really like not to have to… what the heck is that!?!” Jack poked his head into the room, staring at Toothless.

“Jack, meet Toothless. Toothless, Jack Frost.” Now it was my turn to be smug. It’s not every day that you get to show off your Night Fury to a god. Jack cautiously climbed the rest of the way into the room, eyeing Toothless with the same look that everyone gets when they first meet him: a mixture of fear and curiosity; the instinctive voice of reason shouting at you to turn and run for your life, and the innocent curiosity begging to explore and meet this new creature. Apparently curiosity won, and Jack skipped across the room to Toothless, moving remarkably fast with very little apparent effort.

“You have a giant salamander in your bedroom…” he muttered flatly, holding both hands out as if to fend off any potential attacks.

I huffed loudly. “Giant sala- He’s a Night Fury! Scourge of the skies! The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself!” Toothless puffed out his chest proudly.

“Oh, of course, how silly of me,” Jack said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“What, the gods aren’t familiar with their dragons?”

“It’s a dragon!?!” Jack stumbled backwards, his hands flailing a little. Toothless snorted at him and turned away, apparently no longer interested in getting to know Jack, and began grooming himself.

“ _He’s_ a dragon. Really? You really don’t know about this?”

“Well, I’m not exactly from this… area.” So. Jack was a magic being who claimed to not be a god, but could conjure snow and survive hypothermia, and he’d never seen a dragon before. I rubbed my temples, trying to wrap my head around this. He didn’t know what year it is, and had never heard of Berk. What if…? I shook my head, trying to find an alternative explanation, but only one seemed to fit.

“So where, exactly, are you from?”

“Uh… Burgess, I wouldn’t expect you to be familiar with it.”

“Uh-huh.” Time to test my theory. “And when, exactly, are you from?”

Jack’s eyes grew wide and he stammered, surprised. “Wha-what… how… How’d you…” Bingo. I felt a strange sense of satisfaction in rendering Jack speechless.

“I didn't know, until you just said ‘How’d you know’. It’s not that hard to figure out, though. You're obviously not from around here, and if you were from far away and traveling, you wouldn't have ended up in the cove where we found you. And you being from another time, maybe frozen in ice for decades… centuries, maybe! It’s really the only thing that would make sense.”

Jack whistled, impressed. “Well, Sherlock Holmes, you’re quite the deducer… deducerator… deductor? Figure-outer of things.”

“What’s a Sherlock home?”

“Never mind. OK. This is gonna sound weird, but I’m actually from the future.” I snorted. Being frozen in ice didn’t actually seem that much of a stretch for me, especially after finding that frozen Skrill in the iceberg, but from the future? Nope. Not possible.

“So, Mr. Future Boy, how’d you end up here?” Toothless’s ears perked up and he stopped grooming his wings, sensing a story. He padded over and sat by the bed, his head on my lap, ears perked up and an excited gleam in his eyes.

“Well, it’s a long story…”

“We’ve got time.”

“OK…” Jack proceeded to tell me the most incredible, ludicrous story I’d ever heard. Magic spirits being brought back to life by the moon, furry snow monsters making toys, flying sleighs pulled by reindeer, and a villain of black sand? Yeah, right. I have to admit though, despite the ridiculousness of his tale, Jack was a remarkably good storyteller. He jumped around the room, acting out different characters, creating wisps of ice to illustrate props and other characters (Toothless loved those parts, as he hopped through the frosty illusions, trying to catch snowflakes on his tongue). I even found myself laughing and cringing at different parts, feeling sad at the death of ‘Såndi’ the dream guardian, and happy at his return. Jack’s blue eyes sparkled as he narrated, and for a moment I felt a strange tightness in my chest. Almost as if… No, it was definitely not that. I was just feeling sympathetic for Jack’s character in the story (for the events that he talked about most certainly did _not_ actually happen to him). “…And then, Pitch threw a black sand-bomb at me…” He made a light blue snowball and tossed it across the room, somehow moving to intercept it. “It hit the rim of the portal - _kaboom_! - and threw me backwards through it, presumably transporting me here,” He mimed falling backward, somersaulting in midair in an impressive display of acrobatics, and landed nimbly on his feet before dramatically collapsing on the ground, his arm across his eyes in the stereotypical _I’m dead_ position. “And that's the last thing I remember before waking up here.”

“That’s quite the story,” I muttered as he finished, standing and bowing low as if he had just performed a bard’s tale (which, I suppose, he technically had). Toothless tapped on the floor excitedly with his front paws, which was his interpretation of clapping.

“Thank you, sir! And what’s your story?”

“My story?” I stammered. “W-what makes you think I have a story?”

Jack blinked. “Well, let’s see. You have a dragon in your bedroom, you’re missing a leg, you said you’re, what, chief of some tribe? C’mon, there’s a story in there somewhere.”

I sighed, standing. “I suppose I do have a story or two, but they’re not particularly happy.” I shrugged. “Losing a parent sort of puts a damper on ‘happily ever after’, doesn’t it? That kind of sums up my life. Losing, gaining, losing again. Lost my mother for nearly all of my childhood, temporarily lost the respect of my father, nearly lost my dragon, lost my leg and foot, lost my father, and now I’m totally lost as to what to do as Chief… Wait. You!”I rounded on Jack, pointing at him excitedly.


	4. Snowbriquet

”…What about me?” I asked cautiously.

“You control the weather! You can end this insane winter!” 

I sighed. It’s a common misconception, really, but it can get tiring. “Sorry, Buttercup-“

“-It’s Hiccup.”

“Right. Again, sorry to disappoint, but I don’t actually control the weather. I can make snow, frost, sleet, hail, and ice, but I can’t actually change the temperature.”

His face fell. “Of course. Right. OK. So, Mr. Storyteller, how does this one end? A chief must lead his people through the _worst winter in recorded history_! Hmm?” He didn’t look so much angry as just frustrated.

“Hey, calm down.” I patted his shoulder. “Why don’t we just have some fun instead?”

Hiccup looked like he was about to come back with something sarcastic, which seemed to be the boy’s go-to retort, when there was a knock on the door from downstairs. “Hiccup!” someone called. They had a funny accent, almost Scottish, but rougher. I suppose that must be a typical viking accent, although Hiccup sounded more American to me.

“Oh, great, it’s Gobber. As if my day wasn’t weird enough already. Coming!” He called down, before turning to face me. “Don’t go anywhere. Stay here. I’ll be right back.” He gave some sort of hand signal at his dragon before disappearing down the stairs. Yeah right, like I was gonna just sit here. I started to move toward the stairs, but in a flash the dragon was in front of me, blocking my path. It made a soft snarling noise, apparently set on keeping me in the room. A quick snowball to the face took care of that, though, and I quickly dashed down the stairs. Hiccup was talking to a massive man at the door.

“…But Gustav said Snotlout did it, and won' put out the fire without an apology first.”

“Ugh. OK, I’ll see what I can do. Do you know who actually started it?”

“Not yet. I think- Oy, Hiccup, who’s that?” The giant man pointed at me with… was that a hook hand?

“You can see him?” asked Hiccup suspiciously.

“Hiccup, I’m missing me hand, not me eyes.”

“…Right. Of course. This is… uh…”

I piped up, stepping forward to shake the big guy’s hand. Or hook. “I’m Jack Fr-“

“Snow!” shouted Hiccup, quickly stepping between me and the other guy. “Snow… uh… face! Yes! Snowface! The uh… Cold! Snowface the Cold, he’s visiting from a tribe up north. Very far away, very cold, he’s really tired from traveling all day, so uh… Yeah. Snowface, Gobber the Belch. Gobber, Snowface! Great, we all know each other, time to move on. Gobber, I’ll be out in a moment. Ja- uh, Snowface, could I have a word?” Without giving me time to answer, he slammed the door shut.

“Seriously? Snowface the Cold?” I muttered. 

“Well, you're… I can’t just go around telling people you’re Jack Frost! Look, I have to go deal with something. You, you said you're invisible to certain people, right?” I nodded. “Of course, that’s why Astrid couldn’t see you earlier. And- Oh, gods, I’m gonna have to deal with her too. OK. I need you to stay here. As in, really don’t leave the building. OK?”

I frowned and nodded, not super crazy about being holed up in this viking hut. Although, now that I thought about it, I needed Hiccup on my side if I was ever going to get back to my time. As I pulled my hoodie up over my hair, I wondered if there was something more. There was a sort of instinctive desire to… I dunno, get him to like me? I pondered this as I sat down on one of the long benches by the hearth, savoring the warmth I hadn’t felt for so long.


	5. Time To Chill

Ugh. I really hate being chief. Not that I would ever admit it, particularly after loosing dad and all last year. But it can be unbelievably exhausting, having everyone in the village look up to you for guidance, for support, for advice, and for help. Why does everyone assume I know _anything_ about resolving land ownership conflicts, or how to negotiate trade agreements with other islands?

Take today, for example. Snotlout, who’s about my age, got into a fight with Gustav, who’s maybe five or six years younger. And I swear, sometimes I think they enjoy fighting. It’s not like anyone else will tolerate being around Gustav for more than a few minutes, and most people have given up arguing back to Snotlout. It’s not even as if they fight about reasonable things. Today, somehow, one of them managed to set a barrel of water on fire. How does one even do that!?! No wonder my dad used to soothe his headaches with _giant blocks of ice_ after a hard day. 

I returned to my house, half expecting Jack to be gone. But no, there he was, lounging by the hearth tossing tiny chips of ice at Toothless, who was trying to catch them in his mouth.

“Y’know, your dragon thing is basically just a giant cat.”

“ _Toothless_ is not a cat. He’s a Night Fury, the rarest and most powerful species of dragon known to vikings.” I tried to keep the frustration out of my voice, but Jack seemed to sense that I wasn’t feeling up for his games.

“You alright?” he asked, sitting up. Toothless hurried over to me, nuzzling my side as I sat down opposite Jack.

“Sorry, yeah. Rough day, y’know?” I rubbed my back, trying to get my sore muscles to loosen up. Dad used to carry his stress in his head, with headaches, bloodshot eyes,sinus problems, etc. For better or worse, I seem to carry mine in my lower back and hips. Having a mechanical foot doesn’t help much either.

“Huh, yeah. Hey, wanna massage?” I glared at Jack, but he seemed dead serious. “Looks like you need it. I used to give Sandy massages when he was sleep deprived. I think he liked it. Never complained, at least.” He chuckled, then glanced at me, his piercing eyes boring into mine.

“Fine! Fine, massage away.” Astrid used to give me massages, and I can’t say they ever helped much. Or even felt good at all.

“Mmm. Take off your shirt and lay on your stomach.”

“What!?!” I glared at Jack again, probably blushing madly.

“Well if you lay on your back I suppose I could massage your chest, but usually you have to buy me dinner first.” There’s that smirk again. He flexed his hands and cracked his knuckles.

I sighed and pulled off my vest and shirt. I hate being shirtless, particularly around other people. And for some reason being shirtless around Jack was that much more awkward.

“ _Nice_. OK, lay down on your stomach.” I did as I was told, feeling ridiculous as I maneuvered myself onto the cushions on our long bench. Jack rubbed his hands together and began kneading my shoulders.

“Lower back, not shoulders.”

“Gotcha.” He moved down to the part of my back that was hurting, and began working on it. To say that his massage was different from Astrid’s would be an understatement. His fingers were unbelievably smooth and nimble, dancing across my back and seeking out sore or tense muscles, then carefully working the knots out. “Man, you’ve got a lot of tension, Buttercup.”

“It’s Hiccup! …Ahhh…” He silenced me by running his palms up my spine, all the way up to my shoulders then back down again. There was a slight chill to his fingers, which felt surprisingly soothing this close to the open fire. Before I knew it, he was straddling my legs, putting his full (although slight) body weight onto my back. “Mmmmm… Jack, that’s amazing.”

“Heh, I know,” he responded, and I swear I could hear the smirk in his voice.


	6. A Bed to Sleet In

After working my magic on Hiccup’s back (that poor boy; I’ve never felt so much stress in someone), we sat down for an impromptu dinner. 

“Sorry about this, I really wasn’t planning on having anyone over today.”

“S’fine,” I mumbled as I watched him pull stuff out of cabinets. “What’re you making?”

He paused. “Well, we call them _smørrebrød_ , but Trader Johann says that other villages call them ‘sandwiches’. It’s really more of a lunch dish, but like I said, I wasn’t really planning on having a fancy dinner or anything.”

He brought two plates over and I poked curiously at my food with a fork. The ‘sandwich’, or smorry-brood thingy, was basically a slice of brownish bread with butter on it, then piled high with what looked like yellow fish goo. Hiccup must have noticed, since he smiled softly as he poured me some water.

“It’s pickled herring. Trust me, it’s good. Not as good as Mulch’s creamed herring, but hey, I’m still working on the recipe.”

Cautiously, I cut a piece of bread and speared it and some of the fish goop with my fork. To be honest, it looked utterly revolting, small chunks of fish swimming in a thick yellowish ooze. I took a small bite. It wasn’t half bad! “Mustard?” I asked. Hiccup nodded.

“Honey and mustard, with a little dill weed.”

“Heh, I like it!” It was actually quite sweet, and the bread gave some nice contrasting texture. Not that I’m a food critic or anything (heck, I had to steal food until I became a guardian), but this was _good_.

“Uh, you may want to not eat like that,” said Hiccup, looking at me like I was crazy.

“Li’ wha’?” I tried not to spray food everywhere, but now that I’d started eating, I quickly realized how incredibly hungry I was.

“With your fork? You’re gonna stab your tongue.” I paused and looked down at the silverware (he was right, the tines on the fork were terrifyingly pointy), then back at him. He was using the fork to pile his food onto the wide part of his knife, and eating off of that like a spoon.

“Ugh, fine.” Man, I hadn’t used a fork like that since the colonial times back in Burgess. Vikings are weird. I couldn’t wait to get out of this time period… Although I supposed it wouldn't be much different once I got to the correct time period.

After dinner, Hiccup led me back upstairs to his bedroom. He had a big bed with an ornately carved headboard, and the mattress was buried underneath a bunch of blankets and animal pelts. There was a massive slab of rock on the other side of the room, on top of which sat the dragon, lazily watching me take in the space.

“…until then, you can sleep there.”

“Hmm? Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.”

Hiccup groaned. “I said I’ll find you a proper place to sleep tomorrow, tonight you can sleep in my bed.” I smiled at the thought of Hiccup sharing a bed with me; to be completely honest, I found him rather attractive. I had a strange feeling about him. One that I can’t really describe, other than a sort of hunger. I smirked at Hiccup, but he seemed to have read my mind. “I’m sleeping with Toothless tonight.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Well, if you-“

“And please don’t make that joke, I’ve heard it enough times already. Toothless is my best friend.”

“Fine,” I huffed. “You’re no fun.”

“Well sorry. Being chief doesn’t leave much time for fun.” I thought I heard a bit of bitterness there.

“So, Mr. Big-Shot Chief. Tomorrow I want the grand tour of your village. And tomorrow night I wanna talk to the moon.”

“Wait, what?”

I shrugged as I pulled off my blue hoodie and undid the laces on my pant legs, letting the fabric flare out. “The man in the moon, remember? That’s how I became a spirit, then a guardian. As much as I _love_ chilling with dragons and eating your fish goop, this isn’t my time. I’m not supposed to be here. I’m supposed to be back in Burgess with my family… with my sister, my parents, my friends.”

I was pleased to see Hiccup blushing as I undressed for bed, although he expertly hid it by focusing on removing his metal leg thingy, then hopping over to what better be the bathroom (‘cause I really don't want to have to deal with outhouses again… although I suppose I’ll have to in Burgess anyways; I'd forgotten how 'rustic' things had been back then) to change into some silky night clothes. “Good luck with talking to the moon, we haven’t been able to see clear sky here for almost a year. It’s been blizzarding and sleeting and snowing non-stop.” He stuck his head out of the bathroom and glared at me. “I don’t suppose you would have anything to do with that, would you?”

I shook my head. “Nope, sorry.”

He sighed, hopping back into the bedroom. I hoped I could find out what happened to him; he seemed so… sad? Burdened? _Lonely_?

“Well, g’night,” he muttered as he crawled onto the massive stone slab next to his dragon. I watched with curiosity as the dragon used its wings to blow out the candles in the room, before folding its wings around Hiccup so only his head was visible, resting on the creature’s legs.

It didn’t take long for Hiccup to fall asleep, his breathing becoming slow and regular. I could see him clearly across the room; although the shutters on the windows were closed, there was still a bit of light seeping in. I wondered how far north we were. St. North’s workshop in the north pole had sunlight that lasted all summer, and night lasted all winter. Was this place close enough to the north pole to have midnight sun like that?

That’s when it hit me. North’s workshop… probably didn’t even exist yet! He probably hadn’t even been born! Toothiana, Bunnymund, Sandy… they were gone. Not even _gone_ , they hadn’t even existed yet! Hiccup had said it was 988 (I wonder why they were using the Roman calendar? I mentally noted that as something to ask the next day)… and I was in a strange land, with strange people. No friends… no enemies… And that Astrid girl, she couldn’t even see me! Did that mean that most people wouldn’t be able to see me? But that other guy, Goober or whatever, he could see me. And adults almost never see me! Never in my life had I felt so alone, so isolated, so… _out of place_.

As I tossed and turned on Hiccup’s bed (which was thankfully quite comfortable), a ton of uneasy, half-formed thoughts and images swirled around my head, keeping me from falling completely asleep. Hiccup’s face, the look of enchantment he had when I was telling my story earlier. Jamie Bennet’s face, from when he was about my age… The day he stopped believing, stopped being able to see me. That had broken my heart; he was my very first crush. And, so far, my last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Recipe for Hiccup's Dinner: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/12/pickled-herring-smorrebrod-danish-sandwich-recipe.html


	7. Melt Your Fears

Dragons have very unique physiologies. Their body fat is completely different from any other animal I know of; it’s what makes them fireproof, not their skin or scales as most people assume. It’s much lighter than regular fatty tissue, filled with tiny, almost invisible bubbles of air, which is amazingly insulating. It’s also why most dragons aren’t fireproof on the inside; nearly all of their body fat is stored just beneath their skin.

A side effect of all this is that most dragons are, well… squishy. Their padding and insulation is remarkably soft and downy, which is the sole reason I don’t mind sleeping on Toothless’s rock. His front legs make wonderful pillows, and when my hips and back are really bothering me, he lets me sleep on his stomach, which helps tremendously.

The one downside is that, depending on how he’s laying, Toothless sometimes drools on me. And his saliva _never_ washes out! Tonight was one of those nights, and I woke up some time past midnight with my hair and arms sopping wet with dragon drool. Great. Another pair of pajamas ruined.

With a little difficulty, I extracted myself from Toothless’s arms and walked on my knees over to the small chest where I keep spare shirts and towels. After drying myself off and changing my shirt, I began to crawl back to Toothless when I heard a soft whimpering noise.

Looking around, I noticed it was coming from my bed. Oh yeah, I had forgotten that _Jack Frost was sleeping in my bed_. Yesterday had been a weird day. “Jack?” I called softly, not sure if he was awake or not. No reply, but I heard him roll around under the blankets and sheep skins. It almost sounded like he was having a nightmare. I propped myself up on the foot of the bed, wishing I was still wearing my prosthetic foot, and hopped over to where his snowy hair was peeking out from under the covers. Pulling back the sheets, my heart broke a little. Jack was crying in his sleep.

“N-no… Jamie…” he mumbled, biting his lip as a few more tears rolled down his cheek.

“Jack…?” I whispered, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Are you OK?”

“J-Jamie…? I’m here… w-why can’t… you s-see me?”

I sighed, wondering who Jamie was. Jack reached out and grabbed for something, his hand clasping the air above him.

“N-no… P-please…” To be honest, I had absolutely no idea what to do. Toothless never had nightmares, at least as far as I knew, and Astrid claimed to not dream at all (although I didn’t really believe her). “P-please… J-Jamie…” Jack sobbed, tears now pouring freely from his eyes.

After debating for a few moments what I ought to do, I crawled into my bed next to Jack and placed my hand on his shoulder. “I’m here, Jack,” I whispered. “I can see you.”

Jack gasped softly and rolled over to face me, his eyes still closed. “J-Jamie?”

“Sure.” Without warning, Jack wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close, his head tucked under my chin. I silently thanked the gods that Toothless wasn’t awake, since Jack’s sudden movement startled me and I made an embarrassing _squeak_ noise.

“Jamie…” he whispered, his tears making my fresh pajama shirt wet.

“I’m here, I can see you. It’s OK,” I whispered, hoping that I could calm him down. His breathing was ragged and shallow, and I could feel a thin layer of sweat on his back. Glad that no one could see us now, since this was a rather intimate position, I gently ran my fingers through his white hair, smoothing it down in what I hoped was a soothing motion.

“Mmm… Jamie…” he muttered as his breathing became more regular. I wrapped my arms around his torso, hugging him back. I vaguely remembered someone named Jamie from when Jack was telling me and Toothless that ridiculous story. Whoever he was, obviously Jack cared a lot about him. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what it would be like to be invisible to my friends, or to Astrid, or my mother.

“Hiccup. I’m Hiccup,” I whispered into Jack’s ear. Maybe I could change his dream?

“Mmm… Hiccup…” he muttered, holding me even tighter. Maybe I was imagining it, but I thought I could feel him smile against my chest. A gentle warmth built up in my chest, one that I hadn’t felt in years… In fact, the last time I had felt this was when Astrid first kissed me all those years ago. Something strange was happening, I could tell, but I didn’t know what. Deciding to ignore it for now, I held Jack close to me and whispered in his ear.

“I see you, Jack.”


	8. Snow Me Your Village

I am not a morning person. Not by a long shot. Technically, I was supposed to get up early every morning and freeze the dew on people’s lawns. How often have you seen frozen dew in the morning? Only in the dead of winter? Yeah, so maybe I slacked off and slept in during the off-season. Can you blame me? 

When I woke up that morning, it took me a solid five minutes for the previous day’s events to come back to me. Waking up in ‘vikingland’, meeting the chief, that Hiccup guy… having that revolting yet delicious fish goop for dinner… yes, it was all coming back. I looked around for Hiccup, but he wasn’t in the bedroom. Neither was his dragon. I heard some sounds coming from downstairs, so, after stretching briefly, I slipped on my blue hoodie and went downstairs.

“G’morning, sleepyhead!” said Hiccup brightly. He was in the kitchen area (not quite a room, since the first floor of his house had an open floor plan), boiling something in a small kettle. “Feeling better? I’ve got fresh coffee if you’d like some.”

“Nnnnggg… coffee…” I moaned, trying not to trip over my own feet as I zombie-walked over to the kitchen.

Hiccup laughed. “Here you go. There’s some yak’s milk and honey on the table.”

Yak’s milk and honey. Not exactly cream and sugar, but I guess it’ll do. As I sipped my coffee (which was surprisingly good), Hiccup explained that he would be giving me a tour of his village, per my request. “I should give you a heads up, though. Some foreigners can be a little… uh, shocked at how we vikings live. We’re not exactly the most sophisticated, nor the most sociable, people, but I like to think our hearts are in the right place. Also, some of the people in this tribe can be sort of… pungent. Comes with the territory. Oh, and you’re going to meet many more dragons…”

“Hmm. Coffee?” I asked, holding my now-empty mug up.

Hiccup laughed. “Sure. And breakfast as well? I’ve got quark with rhubarb coulis and hardanger lefse with yak butter and jam.”

“I don’t know what you just said, but if it’s sweet and carb-y, gimme,” I muttered as Hiccup poured me another mug of coffee. Turns out the quarky stuff with rhubarb was a pink yogurt thing (although Hiccup insisted it was technically a cheese) that was tart and sweet and amazing, and the hardy leffy thing was a fluffy flat bread, a little reminiscent of pita in appearance, but soft and sweet. All in all, it was a great breakfast!

* * *

“Welcome to Berk!” Hiccup exclaimed proudly. We were standing just outside his house, which seemed to be in the middle of the village. The village itself wasn’t actually that impressive; it looked pretty much like how the History Channel depicted vikings, with massive wooden houses, lots of ornately carved wood, and people walking around with horned helmets on. What _was_ impressive was the local wildlife! Massive creatures of every color and shape bounded through the streets, over the buildings, around villagers, and through shops and houses.

A small green… ‘thing’ flew up to us, squawking like a parrot. It looked like a miniature dragon, the kind of dragon you see in kids books. A long spiky tail, horns on its head, angry yellow eyes. The only difference was this was about the size of a chihuahua, rather than being three stories high. “Let me guess…” I muttered, hiding a little behind Hiccup (after all, can’t dragons breathe fire?). “That’s also a dragon.”

“Yep!” Hiccup knelt down and extended his hand, allowing the green thing to climb up onto his shoulder. “This, Jack, is a Terrible Terror.”

“Doesn’t look so terrible _or_ terrifying to me.”

Hiccup laughed as it took off, disappearing over the roof of a nearby building. “Stoker class… what they lack in armor and strength they make up for with their pinpoint accuracy and stealth. They travel and hunt in groups, and are very social.” He turned and led me down a small hill toward some more buildings. “Every species of dragon has their special skills, and if provoked, can be extremely dangerous.”

“So why do you let them run wild through your town?” I asked, ducking out of the way of a purplish dragon that reminded me of an overgrown bumblebee.

“Oh, these dragons aren’t wild. Here on Berk, we train dragons. It’s kinda our ‘thing’. We also ride dragons…” He turned and smirked at me. “And soon, so will you, if you want to talk to your moon guy.”

“Oy! Hiccup!” Another young guy, maybe a year or two younger than Hiccup, ran out of a nearby building. “Where’s Gustav? Did you hear what he did? He’s going to pay this time… Who’s that?” He pointed at me without making eye contact; I immediately decided I didn’t like him.

“This is Ja- uh, Snowface the Cold.”

“Ha!” The guy sneered at me. “That’s a lame name. You're lame. Hiccup, your friend is lame. I’m going to go find Gustav.”

“No!” I jumped a little at the volume of Hiccup’s voice. “I uh… They need your help down at the docks. Yeah, very important… unloading of… salmon nets. Yeah, so um… Go help them. I think No-Longer-Silent Sven is down there, tell him I sent you.”

The guy grumbled as he turned and left. “Sorry, Jack. That’s Snotlout Jorgensen. He seems rough on the outside, but once you get to know him, you realize that he’s a tiny tiny _tiny_ bit less rough on the inside. Hopefully I can keep him away from Gustav for a while…”

Next, Hiccup led me across an open area to a long and thin building. Two vikings were laying face down in the dirt near the door. “Ruff, Tuff, what the heck are you doing?”

“Mrgggrrrf flynnnmm drrrmnnks.”

Hiccup groaned. “I can’t understand you when your mouth is full of dirt, you know.”

“I understood him just fine!” said the other one, who turned out to be a girl. They both rolled over and sat up, their faces covered with dust and dirt. “He said ‘we’re seeing who can be a better boulder.’ I think I was winning.”

“Were not!”

“Yuh-huh!”

“Guys!” shouted Hiccup. “I want to introduce you to a visitor to Berk. This is Snowface the Cold.” He gestured at me.

“Whoa!” said the girl.

“You said it!” said the boy, both of them looking at me in awe.

“It’s like, he’s even more _there_ than other people who are there. Like, he’s more visible than anyone else!”

Interesting. They must be devout believers then. I looked over to Hiccup, who was staring at the two in confusion.

“Anyways, Ja-uh, Snowface, these are the twins: Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorston.” They both stood and shook my hand.

“Oh, and this…” The guy, Tuffnut, turned and pulled something from underneath the house. “This is the chicken!” He was right, it was a chicken.

“Oh, come on, guys… He’s not here to see your poultry!” Hiccup moaned, obviously anxious to move on. I thought the twins were pretty funny, though.

“What’s her name?” I asked, patting the chicken on her head.

“Chickens have names!?!” Tuffnut looked stunned.

“I think you should name her Camilla.” Yeah, I used to watch a lot of The Muppet Show. It was a guilty pleasure. “It’s from a show I used to watch; there was this guy named Gonzo, he had a chicken named Camilla… I think they were dating or something.”

“You can date chickens!?!” Apparently I had just blown the guy’s mind.

“No, you can’t,” sighed Hiccup, pinching the bride of his nose.

Tuffnut held the chicken up to his face, looking deep into her eyes. “Camilla, he’s right. We come from two different worlds. It would be fun at first, but it would never last. Opposites attract, but similarities bind. It would never work out.”

“ _Boooawwwk… bu-cawk_!”

“You’re right. The candle that burns twice as bright… lasts half as long.” He looked like he might cry.

“C’mon, Jack.” Hiccup grabbed me by my arm and firmly led me away from the twins and Camilla. “Let’s go meet Fishlegs.”

“Man, you vikings have some crazy names.”

Hiccup laughed coldly. “Tradition says vikings should give their children names that instill fear into enemies’ hearts. Of course, not all parents want their children to join the Armada or the Guard, so names can also be descriptive. Like ‘Gobber the Belch’ or ‘Dogsbreath the Duhbrain’. Or my dad, ‘Stoick the Vast’.”

“And ‘Hiccup’? What, you had bad hiccups when you were little?”

He frowned. “No… The name ‘Hiccup’ is traditionally given to the runt of a litter. I was born early, and much too small. Nearly didn’t make it. I think my dad was hoping for another son or daughter, but mom left before that could happen. I don’t think dad ever really was happy with me as his only child.”

“Man, Debbie Downer!”

“Who’s she?”

“Never mind. I uh, I’m sorry you had to go through all that.”

“It’s OK. I’ve gotten used to it.” He sighed, then set off toward a low, wide building. “This is the foundry. I used to work here for Gobber, until I became chief. Now Fishlegs is studying to become the new metallurgist. Fishlegs!” he called, knocking on the door.

“Hold on, Hiccup, I’m coming… OW! I’m OK!” he shouted from inside. It sounded like he was knocking over everything in the building, trying to get to the door. “Sorry, I just… OW! Still OK!” The door opened, and a rather overweight viking stepped out into the sun. “Sorry Hiccup, I was rearranging the casting dies and Meatlug knocked them all over.”

“It’s fine. I wanted to introduce you to our island guest.”

Fishlegs smiled, a dreamy look coming over his face. “Oh, so you’ve heard?”

Hiccup frowned, confused. “Heard wha…? Fishlegs, this is Snowface the Cold, visiting from a tribe up north.”

Fishlegs looked around, not meeting my eyes. I knew that reaction by heart. “Hiccup, your guest seems to have disappeared.”

“He can’t see me, Buttercup.”

Hiccup glared at me. “Why can’t you…? It’s Hic- oh, never mind. Sorry, Fishlegs, I was uh… practicing! Yes, I was practicing giving a tour of Berk for when we have visitors… Wait. What did you mean earlier about ‘I’ve heard’?

“Oh, you didn’t hear? Heather’s visiting!” The dreamy look on his face came back when he said ‘Heather’. It was kinda cute, actually; he seemed totally smitten.

Hiccup frowned. “Heather? Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

“I thought Astrid did. She said she would take care of everything when Heather arrived.”

Hiccup turned and began walking quickly toward the large building set in the side of a cliff. I later found out this was the ‘great hall’, a kind of assembly place. And a cafeteria. “Whoa, Hiccup! Slow down! What’s the hurry? Why so serious all of a sudden?”

Hiccup looked over at me, and to my surprise he looked scared. “Heather the Wanderer is in town. She’s… well let’s just say her and I have a bit of history. And I want to know why Astrid didn’t tell me she was here!”


	9. Cold Reception

Why does everything have to happen at once? First Jack shows up, then Astrid gets mad at me, and now Heather is in town? I groaned as I heaved the massive doors of the great hall open. Jack just stood there, smirking. “Y’know, you could help. These doors are triple reinforced with iron to protect against attacks.”

Jack folded his arms across his chest, looking at me with a bemused smirk. “Nah, watching you is much more fun. Work those muscles, man!”

I slipped inside and looked around for Astrid and Heather. The hall was pretty much empty, except for a couple of voices coming from behind the mead barrels. You never know with Heather; she’s chaotic and doesn’t like taking sides. I motioned to Jack to follow me and keep quiet. Silently thanking Thor that I remembered to lubricate my metal leg’s tensioning coil, I darted over to the barrels and peeked around them. Astrid and Heather were sitting side-by-side, backs against the wall, chatting. A single candle lit their little private area.

“…I just don’t get it,” said Astrid, picking at a non-existent scab on her arm (a bad habit she’s had since we were little). “Sometimes he’s just how I wanted him to be. Y’know, chief material? I mean, he’s brilliant, diplomatic, and a strong leader…” I really hoped she was talking about me. “Yet, other times, he’s still that annoying little prick at the back of the room at the academy, making up stories about fighting dragons or battling trolls.” OK, maybe she was talking about someone else. “I mean, Hiccup is twenty one now. He should have stopped playing make-believe years ago, right?”

Heather nodded, placing her hands on Astrid. When did they get so cosy with each other? “Absolutely, Astrid. There’s a time and place for everything, and games and pretend belong firmly in childhood.”

Astrid looked over at Heather, and I saw her eyes clearly for the first time. They were bloodshot and puffy, like she had been crying. I’ve never known Astrid to cry, not even when dad died. “And yesterday, he…”

“It’s alright, Astrid. I’m here.”

“Well, he disappeared for, like, four hours. Then he came back, and was acting weird… well, weirder than usual. He said there was a boy that he found buried in the snow, wearing weird clothing and muttering something about Toothless.”

“OK…?”

“But it was all made up! He showed me where the ‘boy’ was laying, saying he could see him, but he was just pointing at an empty bench!”

Heather sighed. “Maybe you two should take some time apart… You know, trial separation. To see if that helps? Maybe he just needs a good kick to set him straight.”

Astrid laughed softly. “Yeah, right. Hiccup may be many things, but he’s never been straight. His mind is as wiggly as a Monstrous Nightmare’s horn. Maybe that’s why he’s so good at inventing. His mind works like… well, no one else I know of.” She sighed. “I like your idea of taking some time off. I just don’t know how to tell Hiccup.”

“Don’t worry, Astrid. I believe in you.” Heather leaned over and… wait, did she just _kiss_ Astrid on the cheek!?!

Having seen enough, I grabbed Jack, who had been listening and watching along with me, by his arm and pulled him quickly back to my house. I couldn’t believe it! Astrid… after all this time, she thinks we’re not working out!?!

Now that I thought about it, we did fight moderately often…

I closed the door to my house, pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace. Jack took a seat, staying uncharacteristically quiet and somber. “I’m sorry, Hiccup,” he said finally. “That was pretty harsh.”

I nodded and sat down on the bench next to him. “What am I going to do? I barely know how to run a tribe with her help… I’d be lost if I was alone.”

“You’re not alone, Hiccup. You have me.” Jack wrapped an arm around my waist, sliding a little closer. It was an intimate position, sure, but no one was around, and I found it incredibly comforting.

“Thank you, Jack.”


	10. Freeze the Pain Away

Toothiana once told me that there was value in sadness. I had no idea what she meant back then. I'm still not certain what it means. But if I had to guess, it means that sometimes it’s okay to show that you're sad. And Hiccup, that poor boy, had every reason to be sad. From what I’ve picked up so far, his father died somewhat recently, and there was something about his mom in his past. And I still haven’t figured out what happened to his foot. But being dumped by your girlfriend… Well, I can’t say I’ve ever been there, but I can only imagine how painful it must be. Rubbing Hiccup’s back, I did the only thing I could think of. I told him a story.

“Remember when I told you about our first time with Pitch? Remember the little boy that was the first to see me? His name was Jamie Bennet.” Hiccup nodded, his face blank and droopy. No tears yet, but I wasn’t sure if that was good or not. “Jamie and I became… good friends after that. All through high school, I stayed with him. There was this girl, Marissa Glazier, in his school. Man, you should have seen the way he looked at her. Poor guy had it bad. And they ended up dating, at least for a while….” I bit my lip. I had forgotten how painful that had been, seeing Jamie with someone else. “One day, for reasons that neither of us ever fully figured out, she just up and left him. Dumped him over the phone.” Hiccup looked up at me, and it took a moment for me to realize why he was confused. “Uh, it's like, by… by messenger. Mail, sort of.” Hiccup nodded. “It broke his heart. He was never the same after that… I mean, he got over it, but there was always a sort of… I dunno, sadness to him.” I looked down at my feet as I rubbed Hiccup’s back. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that you’re not alone. Everyone goes through something similar. The details change, but the heartbreak is universal. I don’t know if that helps or not, but we’ve all been there. And we’ve all recovered. And you will too, it just may take some time.”

Hiccup nodded, then looked up at me with his bright green eyes. I hadn’t had the chance to look at him this closely before, and I was a little stunned at how… well, ‘handsome’ he was. His face was peppered with freckles, and there was a scar across his chin. “Jack? Who was your first heartbreak?”

I blinked, pulling myself back. “Oh, um… Well, they… uh… Honestly?” Hiccup nodded. I breathed in deeply. Who knew how vikings treat people like me? But I trusted Hiccup. “J-Jamie Bennet.”

Hiccup nodded again. “I thought so,” he said simply.

“R-really? You’re not, like, weirded out that I liked a guy?”

Hiccup shrugged. “No, why would I be?”

I blinked again, stunned. Weren’t vikings, I dunno, backward and old fashioned? I mean, in the US it was still a touchy subject. “I just thought… Hold on. What religion are vikings?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like, are you Christian, Jewish, Muslim, etc?”

Hiccup frowned. “I’ve never heard of any of those. We’re vikings. Our gods are Odin and his descendants.”

I nodded, not entirely sure what to make of that. “Okay… Ah! Do you have any drinks? If there was ever cause for getting a little tipsy, this seems appropriate.”

Hiccup frowned, but slowly nodded. “Yeah… There’s a jug of mead in the cupboard, I think. I uh… I don’t really drink. Alcohol, I mean. I drink water and coffee and all that.”

I quickly stood and poured us two big cups of the stuff. I had no idea what mead actually was, except that they drank it a lot in Lord of the Rings, and there was a pub back in Burgess that sold it. It was golden in color, and smelled a bit like honey. “Here,” I said, handing Hiccup a cup (I really wanted to call it a ‘flagon’, but I wasn’t sure if that was an actual word or not). “I’m no heavyweight either, but sometimes it helps to just… take the edge off of life. Just a little.”

Hiccup nodded and took a big gulp of it. Almost immediately, his face flushed and he seemed more at ease. “S’not too bad.” I laughed and took a sip. It was indeed reminiscent of honey, and made me feel warm and happy. I hadn’t had a proper drink since before I became a guardian, except for North’s ‘special’ eggnog.

To be completely honest, I don’t entirely remember everything that happened after that. I know Hiccup and I went through the entire jug of mead together, and that somehow we ended up sitting on the floor by the fireplace, our backs against the legs of one of his benches. At some point, Hiccup caught the hiccups, which, in my alcohol-soddened mind, was the funniest thing I’d ever seen.

“Jack, s’not f-HIC-unny. S’making my sides HIC hurt.” He had a pretty bad case of the giggles as well, although he was doing a decent job suppressing them.

“It’s _totally_ funny! Hic’s got the hics!”

“JAAACK!!!”

“Okay, okay, I’ll try to help you get rid of them.” How do you get rid of hiccups? I thought through all the bogus remedies I’d read about online. “Try drinking from the far side of your cup.”

“You wan’ me… From the far HIC side? Okay…” Hiccup bent over his mug and quickly dumped it all over his shirt. “Aw man, I’m all HIC wet now.” He pulled his shirt off and tried to hang it by the fire, but only managed to burn off one of the sleeves. Okay, don’t judge me, but seeing him shirtless like that really turned me on. His chest was perfectly toned, but he wasn’t ‘ripped’ like some of the dumb jocks at Jamie’s high school. His body reminded me of a swimmer a little. Smooth and toned. There was some short hair across his pecs, and running down to his pants. A ‘happy trail’, I think it’s called.

“H-hey Buttercup? You’re sorta really hot.” A little voice in the back of my head shouted that I was drunk and going to regret blurting out the first thing that crossed my mind, but alcohol has an impressive ability to drown out that little voice.

Hiccup giggled. “That’s ‘cause I’m HIC laying by the HIC fire HIC…” He burped, then winced, holding his sides in pain. “Ow… ‘scuse me, sorry.”

“Hey Buttercup? You know they say another way to get rid of the hiccups… not you, ‘Hiccup’, but the hiccups you have…” I erupted in giggles again. “Sorry, the hiccups… I heard somewhere that you can, like, surprise someone. Like, shock them somehow. And that’ll get rid of them.”

Hiccup nodded, his eyes half closed. And at that moment, I did it. I guess I justified it as a ‘surprise’ to help him. I leaned over and kissed him on the lips. Not hard on the lips, like in those dumb teen movies, but gently. Well, as gently as I could withmy impaired motor skills. By which I mean I whacked my forehead against his with a painful ‘CLONK’. “OW!”

“Sorry…” I mumbled, blushing. What the heck did I just do? I pulled back a little, but Hiccup wrapped his hand around my neck and pulled me back to him, and before I knew it _he_ was kissing _me_. And it was the most amazing thing I’d ever experienced in my life.


	11. Emotional Blizzard

The next morning, I woke up with a massive headache. Of course. Drinking. Hangover. I thought back to the previous night, but the details were all a little murky. Astrid wanted to take a break from our relationship… Jack got me drunk… we kissed… WE KISSED!?! My eyes snapped open. I was laying on the rug in front of the hearth, curled up around a softly snoring Jack. Both of our shirts were missing. Biting my lip, I quietly stood and went to my room, where I got dressed. Trying not to panic, I wondered how far things had gone the previous night. Kissing was about all that I could remember, but I didn’t remember Jack taking his shirt off, or us curling up around each other like that.

“Hiccup?” Oh great. Jack’s awake. I quietly lubed up my leg and climbed out my window, dead set on avoiding a certain winter spirit. The window escape wasn’t anything new, I used it all the time when dad was trying to have one of his ‘talks’ with me. Trying not to look as panicked as I felt, I hurried off toward the great hall to find something, anything, to keep myself busy.

A few hours later, after doing some mindless menial labor (actually I was overseeing a bunch of villagers doing the menial labor, since, as chief, I can’t actually _do_ grunt work anymore), Jack showed up. “Hey! Hey Hiccup!” he called, waving his hands over his head as he skipped toward me.

I did my best to ignore him. “Mulch, can you help Sven with that crate? It needs to go down to the tannery. And don’t drop it, there’s glass in there! Agnes, good job, I think the millstone is about as clean as we’re going to get it. Hoark, when you’re done patching the roof, could you double check how many empty barrels are in the storehouse? Hoff and Spitelout gave me two different numbers… I don’t really trust Spitelout to count that high.”

“Hiccup, we need to talk.” Jack, now standing basically in front of me, crossed his arms and frowned.

I continued, trying to ignore him. “Ah, thank you, Sven. When Agnes gets back with more rags, I think it’s about time to clean out the horse trough. Oh, and Agnar, I really wish you wouldn’t run when you’re carrying lit torches. We’re low enough on spare lumber as it is.”

“Hiccup?” Jack uncrossed his arms, looking less frustrated and more worried.

“Thank you, Agnar. Why don’t you take a break and grab some lunch? When you come back, we can figure out how to fix the doors over at the Ingerman house.” I glanced at Jack out of the corner of my eyes, and nearly choked. There were tears in his eyes.

“Hiccup… can you see me? Please, Hiccup… Can you hear me? Can you see me? Oh god, I’m invisible again…”

I quickly dropped my task list and hurried over to Jack. “I can see you, Jack, you’re not invisible. I’m just… I’m very busy right now.”

He wiped his nose on his sleeve. “Please, Hiccup… I just want to talk.”

I gritted my teeth. “Okay, okay… Hold on a sec.” I turned to the few people that were waiting for more directions. “Um… Let’s take a lunch break, everyone. Good job, I think we’ve completed almost everything on the list for our monthly village repairs.” I turned back to Jack. “Um… Let’s go talk in my house, Okay?”

He nodded, and quickly skipped back toward my house, although there was a noticeable droop in his energy.

Once we were back in the comfort and warmth of my living room, I brewed some tea and handed a mug to Jack. “Look, about last night…” he started, but I quickly held up my hand.

“I know. It was nothing. I don’t usually drink, I got carried away… It didn’t mean anything. Okay? So don’t worry… We can just keep on going like before.” The expression on Jack’s face immediately told me I had screwed up. Again. Like always.

“Hiccup… I really enjoyed last night. I mean, what we did last night. The kissing, at least, since that’s all I remember…”

I nodded. “That’s all I remember too.”

“I liked it. I like you. I know that… that you don’t feel the same about me. That you are with Astrid, even if you’re going through a rough patch with her. But… But I like you. And I… I don’t want to…” He looked into the fire as he tugged a little on his sleeves. “Everything around me happens so fast. Everyone I meet… I watch them grow old and pass away. Them, their kids, their grand kids… they all go away. And I… I have to go through that, over and over. I will with you too, if I stick around long enough. Eventually, you’ll stop seeing me, then you’ll forget all about me. I’ll be like a fairy tale to you. Something you tell your kids to put them to sleep. And they’ll see me for a while… then they’ll stop seeing me too.” He looked up at me, his face streaked with tears. “I loved Jamie Bennet. I loved him… so much. He was my first crush. And my only. After he went away… I just stopped letting myself care. I thought… if I didn’t let anyone in, it wouldn't hurt so much when they left. But… but last night, I let you in. And it was… incredible. I don’t want to… to loose that feeling. That… I dunno. You, I guess. I don’t want to loose you.”


	12. Snow One Else

Never has there been a word more fitting for a definition than ‘crush’. Because that’s exactly how you feel. You feel crushed. And now, completely broken down right in front of Hiccup, I felt crushed. Even if my wildest dreams came true, and Hiccup actually had romantic interest in me… The best I could possibly hope for would be for us to be together for a short while… then he’d grow old and leave me behind. After Jamie, I swore that I wouldn’t let that happen.

“Jack?” I looked up into his eyes. Those piercing green eyes. “Let’s get one thing straight.” Uh oh. Here it comes. “You’re not going to loose me. I promise.” Okay… not what I was expecting. Hiccup rested his hand on my shoulder. “I don’t know what last night was. I don’t know how I feel right now. I… I know that’s probably not what you want to hear. I'm not even sure if I'm technically single right now. You’re… I like you too, as a friend, and… I dunno, maybe more. I never thought of myself as someone who runs from women, but… but you’re different, somehow. Everything is kinda messed up in my life right now, and I just… I need some time to figure out what I want.” I looked down at the wood of the bench. “But Jack, I’m not going to leave you. No matter what happens.”

He pulled me into a tight hug, and I sort of lost it. Hugging him back, I completely broke down sobbing. What the heck was wrong with me? It was like I was drunk again. I had no self-control, all I could do was hug him back and try not to embarrass myself any further.

After a few minutes, I pulled back and wiped the tears from my face. “Sorry… I don’t know what that was.”

Hiccup shrugged. “After my father died, my mom told me that there’s nothing wrong with crying, as long as it doesn’t impede you as a viking or chief.”

I nodded quietly. “Can… Can we go see the moon now?”

Hiccup frowned. “We could try… But you can’t see it during the day, at least not this time of the year, and we haven’t seen clear skies in months. We’ll have to fly to somewhere with better weather.” He stood. “Feel like going on an adventure?”

I snorted, wiping the last bit of tears from my face. “I’m kinda already on one.”

“Fair point. Okay… Let’s go to Outpost Island. I know for certain that there’s good weather there. It’s a six hour flight, though, depending on the wind. You’re going to need better clothing for the trip.”

“What are you talking about? I love this hoodie… It’s plenty warm.”

Hiccup pointed at my sleeves. “It’s a little small, though.”

I looked down and tugged at the ends of my sleeves. He was right, they were a little shorter than they used to be. “Weird… it must have shrunk when you dried it the other day.”

“Or you’re growing.”

I sighed. “Nope. I don’t grow. I’ve been this size and shape for the past… well, as long as I can remember, actually.”

“Another ‘perk’ of being a guardian?”

I nodded. “Just a spirit now, but yes.”

He stood and began walking around, packing a big wicker basket full of food and blankets and stuff. “You know, this whole ‘being a spirit’ business sounds pretty awful to me.”

“Well… it sorta is. But seeing the kids’ faces when you give them a snow day, or start a snowball fight… it’s worth it. Usually. Besides, I’ve gotten to see things most people never could: every war since I was born, the construction of the Eiffel Tower and the Golden Gate Bridge… President Washington through President Rheese… I’ve sat in on classes taught by some of the best scientists, artists, musicians… I even got myself in history books! Snowmageddon in 2010… that time I caught the flu and caused a snow tornado in 1922… Snowpocalypse in 2023…The blizzard of 1888, not one of my prouder moments…” I sighed. “But yeah. Overall it sucked being a spirit. I guess it still does.”

Hiccup nodded, and kneeled next to me. “Okay, Jack. Here’s what we’re going to do: We’re going to go talk to the moon, you’re going to go back to your home, and you’re going to get to live out the rest of your life the way you want.”

Burgess… Living the rest of my life in Burgess. To be honest, I was beginning to wonder if that was what I really wanted. I had looked up what happened to my family when I got my memories back. Seventeen years after I ‘died’, there was a fire that nearly wiped out the village. My family survived, but they lost nearly everything. They moved to Boston, and lived the rest of their lives there. The Overland family petered out after that. My sister became a teacher and published a book about nursery rhymes. My dad ran a rather unsuccessful haberdashery, and died of pneumonia when he was in his fifties. No more children, as my sister never got married. Was that really what I wanted to return to? A life where I knew everyone's depressing fate? Then, there was the whole ‘changing the future’ issue, which I never did get a chance to clarify with Father Time.

“Jack?”

“Hmm?”

“You okay? You looked a little lost.”

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. “I’m fine, just thinking… about stuff.”


	13. Cool Flight

“Are you sure this is safe?”

I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. “Yes, Jack. Yes this is safe. Toothless and I have flown all over the Archipelago, and far beyond. Even without me, Toothless can operate his mechanical fin on his own to land safely. And, after last year, I rebuilt his saddle with cork filling instead of cotton, so even if we land in the water, he can float and paddle us somewhere safe.” I held out my hand for Jack to grab. We were packed and ready to go, and just now was Jack getting cold feet (sorry for that pun). With some hesitation, Jack grabbed my hand and I lifted him onto the saddle, with him right in front of me.

“I mean, I can fly on my own and everything… even without my staff! Why are we taking your dragon again?”

“Because _I_ can’t fly. And because we need to bring food and camping gear… There’s a volcanic island about half-way to Outpost Island, we’re going to camp there for the night. I don’t want Toothless to get too tired, since we might face some heavy winds.”

Jack sighed, then turned around and grinned. “Okay, then. Ready for takeoff, captain!” He winked, then faced forward and leaned back a little, his back resting comfortably on my chest. I’d done this before with Astrid, and her shoulder blades always left me bruised. But Jack wasn’t as bony or strong as her, and it was actually fairly comfortable. 

Glad that he couldn’t see my blush, I set Toothless’s tail fin for takeoff and tapped the saddle. “Alright bud, let’s fly. We should shoot for Gutbucket Island for tonight, okay bud? Let’s not overdo it, not in this weather.”

With a happy yip, Toothless took to the sky. Unfortunately, due to the wind, I couldn’t really carry on a conversation with Jack until we cleared Helheim’s Gate. After a while, though, the wind died down and it was a pretty smooth flight, save for the occasional flurry of snow. “So, Buttercup, now that we have some time, howsabout you tell me about how you lost your foot.”

I sighed. “Really? Okay…” I quickly recounted how I had first met Toothless, how I was responsible for maiming his tail, my slow understanding of how to interact with dragons, how my father had essentially disowned me, the attack on the Dragon’s Nest, and how Toothless and I had defeated the queen dragon. “…Unfortunately, we got caught in the fireball as the Red Death fell. I lost my grip on Toothless… The last thing I remember was hitting the fireball, Toothless maybe fifty feet from me. The next thing I know, I’m back in my bed at home with a metal peg leg. Apparently, nobody really knows exactly how I lost my leg. It was so mangled… it could have been burned off in the fireball, I could have been hit by the Red Death’s tail… but I like to think that Toothless grabbed me by my leg, so he could wrap his wings around me for protection. Eh, bud?” I patted Toothless’s back. “You did what you had to do to save me.” I rested my hands next to Jack’s. “I guess you could call it ‘poetic symmetry’… or something. Y’know, Toothless loosing his left tail fin, me loosing my left foot and shin.”

Jack turned around to look at me, and I was surprised to see… was that adoration in his eyes? Respect? “You really went through all that? Geeze, and I thought I had it rough. No wonder you’re so…” He drifted off.

“So what? Hey, you can’t leave me hanging with that!”

“So… so this.” He pointed at me.

“You just gestured at… I’m beginning noticing a distinct trend in my life,” I muttered.

“Are we there yet?”

“No.”

“How about now?”

I sighed. “No. You take a nap. I’ll wake you when we’re there.” About ninety minutes later, I tapped his shoulder. “Hey, wake up. We’re here.” Toothless swooped down toward the island, landing in a clearing near the shore. “Can you help me with the tent?”

Jack smirked and shook his head. “Eh, nah. You seem to have it under control.”

“Okay, rephrase: Help me with the tent.” Jack sighed dramatically and helped unpack the tent. I say ‘helped’, he was actually more of a hindrance than anything. “You’ve never been camping before, have you?”

He shook his head. “I’ve slept in ice caves before, but that’s about it.”

“Okay… Here, hold this rope and pull on it once I get the other side staked down.”

He tapped his chin, pretending to think hard. “And what do I get for being your trusty assistant? Hmm? Perhaps another kiss?”

I blushed and glared at him. “You get dinner, that’s what you get.”

He secured the rope he was holding and skipped over to me. “Do I at least get to share your sleeping bag?”

“…Sure. Fine. I guess.”

He grinned and did a quick cartwheel. “Whoo!!!”

We quickly got the tent set up, and I built a small campfire with Toothless’s help. “Thanks, bud. I think I saw a lake about a half-mile north of here, toward the mountain. Wanna go check for some fish there? I know you don’t care for mutton, bud.” Toothless grinned and scampered off. 

“Is he gonna be alright on his own?” asked Jack, watching Toothless disappear into the forest.

I nodded. “Of course. If anything, we’re the ones that are more vulnerable on our own. But this island’s uninhabited, and the biggest dragons native to this area are Gronkles, so there’s really nothing to worry about. Besides, if anything happens, I can always whistle for Toothless. He can hear my whistle from over four miles away.”

Jack nodded, still looking a little unsure. “Okay… Hey, Buttercup, something I’ve been meaning to ask you… Why do you use miles to measure things? And why did you use the…” He scratched his head. “The calendar that they use in the US?”

I frowned. “I have no idea what a Yewess is, but… We kinda borrowed our calendar from the Romans. It makes trading easier. I don’t know why they count years the way they do.” I shrugged. “It never seemed that important to me.”

“And… why are we speaking English?”

“…We’re not. We’re speaking Nordic. You have a kinda funny accent, though.”

Jack frowned and scratched his head. “So… Okay, I think I know what’s going on. But… But I have to ask the moon first.” He looked up at the cloud-covered sky and sighed.

“Hey Jack?”

“Yeah?”

I handed him a leg of mutton and a cup of lingonberry juice. “Tell me about your home. Burgess, right?”

Jack sighed. “Burgess… It seems so far away. Even further than before. It’s a small village in what became Virginia. Maybe a thousand people? It really wasn’t anything special.”

“Every place someone calls home is special, Jack.” Jeeze, I’m starting to sound like my mother.

“My family lived there. My parents were first-generation colonists, they came over from England when they were kids. We had a little cabin by the main road. My dad… he ran the general store. Wanted to become a haberdasher.”

“A haberwhater?”

Jack smirked. “A haberdasher. They sell men’s clothing and accessories. Dad loved to sew… he made all of our clothing, our drapery, bedclothes, and table cloth. Mom thought it was ‘unmanly’ of him, but he didn’t care.” He laughed. “I guess I inherited that from him. Not caring what others think. Anyway, my sister… she was the ‘down to earth’ one. Marie. We used to play together… Then she’d go and tattle on me for playing too much make-believe.”

“What’s wrong with make-believe?”

Jack looked over at me with a funny, unreadable expression. “Remember, a few days ago, when you first met me? And I said you were acting like a kid?” I nodded. “There’s _nothing_ wrong with make-believe. It’s a good thing. And that’s probably why you can see me. You understand the value of fun. Of being young. Of having an open mind to the world. You act like a child, and I’ll bet that’s what makes you such a good leader.”

I frowned and picked at my food. “But I’m not a good leader. At least, not as good as my dad.”

Jack rested his hand on mine. “You’re a great leader. At least, from what I’ve seen so far. As for your dad… maybe you shouldn’t try so hard to be like him. I’m sure he was wonderful, but you’re not him. You’re Hiccup. You’re a new leader with new ways.”

I nodded. “I guess. So you’ve told me about your family, but what about your village?”

Jack looked down at the ground. “I don’t know what there is to say about it. It was small… most of the buildings were wood. There was a church on the north side. We didn’t have a blacksmith, so we had to go to neighboring towns if anything broke. It really wasn’t… wasn’t that good.”

“So why do you want to go back? Just to be with your family?”

Jack looked up at me, that unreadable expression on his face again. “Yeah… I think so. I mean… I don’t really miss my family. I was with them for their entire lives, even if they didn’t know it. I guess… I guess I just miss having a regular, normal life.” He conjured a snowball and threw it at a nearby tree. “Even the most amazing things become boring after a few hundred years. And it’s not like you have any shortage of cold around here.”

“It’s not usually like this. We usually have seasons. Summer and winter. The growing season and the ‘stay indoors by the fire’ season. This has just been… I don’t know. A weird year, I guess.”

Jack nodded. “Yeah, I can see that.” He set his plate down and leaned against me. “Thanks again, Buttercup.”

“For what?”

“Everything. For just being yourself.”


	14. Break the Ice

After Hiccup finished cleaning up from dinner, Toothless returned. He had a big grin on his face, and a fish tail sticking out of the corner of his mouth. “Hey, bud. You found something tasty, didn’t you?” Hiccup scratched under Toothless’s chin, then pointed at the fire. “Could you give us a slow burn? Something to last through the night?”

Toothless… well, it sure looked like he nodded. With a low rumble that reminded me of a jet airplane taking off, he spit some sort of magenta flame at the ground. Almost immediately, the ground got so hot that it began to glow a low orange. “Oooh, I get it! That’ll keep us warm through the night!”

Hiccup smiled at me. “That’s my plan.” And sure enough, I could feel the heat radiating from the glowing patch of ground.

“Alright! Let’s get snuggly!”

Hiccup face-palmed and hesitantly nodded. “We’re just sharing a sleeping bag. That’s it, okay?” I smirked and climbed into the tent. It was nothing special, just a sheet of canvas supported by some rope and wood poles. Hiccup’s sleeping bag, however, was incredibly soft and warm. I wormed my way into it, smiling involuntarily at how soft it was. Hiccup entered the tent a moment later, and frowned at me. “Are you sure you want to share ton-“

“Yes.”

He signed, then climbed in next to me after removing his metal leg. Almost immediately, I scooted over and rested my head on his shoulder. I felt him tense up at my touch, so I tried to help relax him. “Shhh…”

“I’m not making any noise.”

“Just relax. Hey, want another massage?”

Hiccup groaned. “Do I have a choice?”

“Nope! Shirt off, mister.”

With another groan, Hiccup pulled his shirt off. I couldn’t see much in the dark of the tent, but I could tell that he was blushing. Badly. I slowly let my fingers explore his chest, before he grabbed my hands and pushed me back a little.

“Whoa whoa whoa!!! I thought you were giving me a back massage!”

“I thought I might mix it up a little… Remember, I said last time that you had to give me dinner first? Well, you just gave me dinner. So now you get a little more intimate… caressing.”

Hiccup sighed. “Okay… it did feel a little good.”

I smirked. “Oh, that’s just a teaser.” Once he let go of my hands, I began working them across his chest and torso. His pectorals were rock solid… I had to hold myself back from drooling. And his abs… rock solid too. He was basically as fit as he could be without looking like a bodybuilder. Slowly, as I worked on the muscle knots in his shoulders, sides, and an odd one just below his ribcage, I noticed a distinct change in his body’s scent. It was more musky, more… arousing.

“Jack…?”

“Mm-hmm?”

“Something’s… you’re, um… poking me.”

It took me a moment to realize what he was getting at. I somehow hadn’t realized how aroused I’d become, and I was now pressing my erection right into Hiccup’s thigh. “Oh my god I’m so sorry!” I quickly rolled over and hid my face. How embarrassing!

I felt a soft touch on my back. “It’s okay… I… I didn’t mind.”

“But… but you’re… you’re still with Astrid, aren’t you? I mean, you’re just… taking a break?”

I felt him shrug behind me. “I don’t know… to be honest, I’m not sure how I feel about her anymore. Things weren't exactly working out well between us. But forget her. You said you like me. I don’t know if I like you back. I guess…” He took a deep breath. “I guess tonight is as good of any a time for you to get me to fall for you.”

I rolled over and looked at him. As dark as it was, his green eyes still sparkled and gleamed. “Are you sure?”

“I think… I think so.”

I grinned and slowly resumed massaging his chest, letting my erection press gently into his leg. Without thinking, my hands worked their way down toward his abs and I leaned in for a kiss. To my surprise, he leaned forward as well to meet me. Kissing him while not under the influence was even more amazing than when I was drunk. His lips were soft and hot against mine, and he made the most adorable, sexy moaning sounds every now and then. I took a chance and nibbled a little on his lower lip, tugging and sucking slightly. With a much louder moan, he suddenly wrapped his arms around me, pulling me flat up against him as he slipped his hands under my shirt. “Mmm… Buttercup…”

“Jack…”

Before I knew it, he was pulling my shirt off, and letting his hands glide across my (much flatter and considerably less toned) chest.

“Hiccup… Hiccup, I’ve never… I should tell you I’ve never gone this far before. Ever.”

He pulled back a little and looked into my eyes, as if searching for something. “Are you sure you want to…?“

“Yes.”

With a soft smile, Hiccup pulled me back in, and I could suddenly feel his excitement as well, pressing into my stomach. With an embarrassing, strangled yell, I came in my pants. Crud… I tried not to make too much noise as my whole body tensed up, my lower part throbbing and spasming as it soaked the front of my pants. Breathing out heavily, I looked up at Hiccup apologetically.

“You just came, didn’t you?”

I nodded, incredibly embarrassed. “Y-yeah. S-sorry. F-first time… I’m sorry” 

To my surprise, Hiccup leaned down and kissed my nose. “It’s fine. Um… I uh… Could you excuse me? I uh… I need to take care of my own… thing.”

I grinned, happier than I’ve ever been before. “Nope. I wanna help.”

“Jack…”

“Sorry, not up for debate.” I kissed him on the lips as I pressed myself against his bulge, rocking back and forth with my hips. To be honest, I had no idea what I was doing, but it just felt… right. As Hiccup’s breath increased, I rested my forehead on his as I sped up my movements, rubbing my hips up and down against his bulge. With a gasp, he grabbed one of my hands and placed it over his excitement, encouraging me to squeeze him through his pants. “Oh my god… you’re huge!” He truly was… It felt like I was squeezing a cucumber! He was so hard and thick… I rubbed my hand up and down his bulge, squeezing and tugging and kissing him hard on the lips.

Suddenly, he arched his back and began gasping, short and quick breaths that became moans, and I felt his pants become wet as well. Breathing hard, he slowly lowered himself down, then after a moment rolled onto his side to face me. He was bright red and beaming.

“So… good, then?”

He laughed and kissed me on the nose. “Yes. You’re adorable. I think I like you too.”


	15. A Pretty Chill Place

In the morning, I awoke slowly, feeling very… happy. Maybe that’s not the right word. Peaceful? Content? I wasn’t exactly sure, but whatever I was feeling, I had no doubt that it was due to the small, pale boy curled up in my arms. Jack’s head was tucked under my chin, and his arms were curled happily against my chest.

“Morning, sleepyhead.”

“Mmm…” Jack groaned as he woke up. “Five more minutes… Neh…”

Once we were both fully awake and caffeinated, I packed up the tent and nodded to Jack. “Time to go.”

Jack sighed. “Okay… We have to go on Toothless again, don’t we?”

“What, you don’t like traveling by dragon?”

He shook his head. “I like flying by myself. Watch…” He grabbed a long stick from the pile of firewood, and examined it closely. “This’ll do. Wind, let’s show Buttercup just what we can do.” There was a loud ‘whoosh’ sound, and a strong gust of air blew past me, lifting Jack into the air.

“How… You fly by wind?”

He nodded. “Yeah… now check this out!” He lifted the stick over his head, and suddenly he was shooting high into the air, then flying sideways in a large arc.

Behind me, I heard Toothless make an unimpressed ‘humph’ noise. I turned around and chuckled. “What’s wrong, bud? Feeling a little… shown up?” Toothless looked down at the ground and begrudgingly nodded. “Aww, come on, big baby boo. Here, maybe you can give Jack a run for his money.” I locked his tail fin in place, then patted his back. “Go get ‘em.” With a happy yip, he took off, chasing after Jack. With his tail fin locked like that, he couldn’t go super fast, nor could he do any fancy aeronautic maneuvers, but he could still get to wherever he needed to go. I sat down on a small rock by the campfire and chuckled, watching him chase after Jack.

I have to say that Jack’s speed was quite impressive, although he looked like he was only barely in control as he tumbled about, the wind throwing him head over heels in different directions. Despite his speed, Toothless easily caught up with him, then shot a small plasma blast ahead of both of them. The explosion and shockwave seemed to knock Jack out of the wind stream, and he yelled in terror as he fell. I just grinned and crossed my arms. Sure enough, Toothless caught him in his claws well before he hit the water. With a smug grin, Toothless landed, dropping Jack a few feet to the ground.

I grinned even wider when Jack angrily stuck out his tongue and turned away from Toothless, who growled quietly and turned away. “I can’t believe it. You’re so immature! Both of you! Now Jack, I think you owe Toothless a ‘thank you’.”

Jack begrudgingly turned to face Toothless. “Thanks…” he mumbled.

“And Toothless, you really didn’t have to knock Jack out of the air.” Toothless made a soft grumbling sound. “Oh really, you both are ridiculous!” I huffed, throwing my arms up in the air. Toothless slowly approached Jack, then jumped on him, licking him head to toe.

“Ugh, yuck!”

I laughed. “That’s how he says ‘sorry’. I think.”

“Well, tell him to stop!”

“Hey, I’m not his owner, just his rider!”

After I finally got Toothless off of Jack, I frowned. “Um… I might have some spare clothes…” Jack nodded, as he was dripping saliva and looking rather uncomfortable in his wet clothes. I pulled out a spare shirt and pants, and turned my back while he got changed.

“Um… Hey Hiccup? I think these might be a little… too big.” I turned back and had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. Jack looked tiny, my shirt and pants drooping off of him like he had shrunk.

“Don’t worry, I think I have some rope or pins or something… Hold on.”

I quickly cinched up his clothes, and soon enough we were up in the air.

As we exited the archipelago, the sun came out, and I couldn’t help but smile, feeling the warmth of the sun that I had missed out on for so long. “Wow,” mumbled Jack. “This place really cleans up once the sun’s out.”

I nodded. “You see why having perpetual winter has been so tough now, right?”

Jack shrugged. “Eh… I do have a certain… ‘affinity’ toward winter, but I suppose you’re right. Being able to eat food is kinda important. So tell me about this ‘Outpost’ place. What’s so special about it?”

“Well, for one, it’s Berk’s first colony. The other riders and I discovered it a few years ago, when we were exploring beyond the archipelago. We established a sort of ‘home base’ there, called it ‘Dragon’s Edge’.”

“‘Cause it’s the edge of the map?”

“Um… sure? I don’t actually remember why we called it that. It just seemed right at the time. But now there’s maybe fifty or so people there at any given time, exploring new trade routes, mapping out new islands, doing research on new dragon species, and whatnot. The council has even been talking about clearing out some of the forest and building some farms there, if this crazy weather doesn’t let up soon.”

“Council? I thought you were the chief?”

I nodded. “I am. I can’t micromanage every little thing, though, and as the youngest chief Berk has ever had, I decided to put together a sort of ‘advising council’ from the village elders. It never hurts to have extra perspectives.” I sighed. “Actually, to be honest, I’ve been trying to get the council to take on more responsibility. I hate being chief. I really do. I haven’t had time to go on any big adventures with Toothless, haven’t gotten a chance to participate in any dragon races… I haven’t even had time to work on any bread recipes!”

Jack turned around and looked at me, his eyebrows cocked with curiosity. “Bread… recipes?”

I blushed. “Never mind.”

“Oh no, Buttercup, you’re not getting off that easily.” He twisted more to face me and tapped me rather hard on the forehead. “You like to bake, don’t you?”

I frowned and fiddled with the straps on Toothless’s saddle. “I uh… Well, you see… When I was little, I always wanted to be a baker. Mainly bread. You know, there really aren’t enough bread making vikings. I used to tell my dad I wanted to be a bread making viking, but… he never really took me seriously. Remember that hardanger lefse we had for breakfast a few days ago? That’s one of my personal recipes. The secret is to warm up the butter before you make the dough. It makes the dough easier to work with.” I couldn’t help but grin. “Best lefse in the archipelago!”

Jack giggled. “Well look at you, master chef!”

I blushed. “I don’t know about ‘master chef’. I just like feeding others. Food brings individuals together, creates a shared experience. Oh gods, I’m turning into my mom!”

Jack smiled. “Nah, I think its cute.”

“I’m not cute.”

“…It’s very becoming of you. Where is your mom, anyways? I wanna meet her.”

“She’s away on a meeting with Trader Johann and Ivan the Outcast. They’re trying to negotiate a trade agreement between the Outcasts and Berk. She should be back soon. Ah, there it is!” We swooped down on Outpost Island and landed in front of the main building. A few villagers came out to greet us.

“Greetin’, chief!” said one of the villagers, who I recognized as Mattolk the Miasmic. Trying not to breathe in too deeply, I smiled and nodded at him.

“Thank you, Mattolk. Um… Have you met my friend?” I tried to word it in such a way that I didn’t come across crazy if he was one of the people who couldn’t see Jack.

“No, I don’ believe so.” He looked up at Jack and smirked, probably due to Jack’s four-sizes-too-big clothing. So he could see Jack. Good.

“Mattolk, this is Ja- uh, Snowf- um…”

Mattolk laughed heartily and I glanced apologetically at Jack. Mattolk's bad breath could be smelled from up to fifty yards away. “Hiccup, you forge’ your friend’s name already?”

Jack hopped nimbly down from the saddle and extended his hand. “Hi, I’m Jackson Overland,” he exclaimed happily. Mattolk reluctantly shook his hand, obviously not sure what to make of Jack.

“Jack… uh, Jackson, this is Mattolk the Miasmic, acting chief of Dragon’s Edge.”

Jack smirked. “I’m from another tribe. Our custom upon greeting someone is to close our eyes and say ‘Aaah’, would you be kind enough do to that?”

Mattolk shot me a bewildered stare. As I had absolutely no idea what on earth Jack was up to, I just shrugged.

“Uh… okay. Aaah…” He closed his eyes, and immediately Jack shot some kind of sparkly, icy thing into Mattolk's open mouth. Mattolk coughed slightly, then opened his eyes. “Your tribe is strange. Hiccup, Jackson, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go get a room cleared for you for this evening.” Looking more than a little confused, he wandered off.

As soon as he was out of earshot, I grabbed Jack by the arm. “What in Odin’s name was that?”

“Relax, Buttercup. I fixed his bad breath!”

“You _what_!?!”

Smirking, Jack stood tall. “He shall now henceforth be known as Mattolk the Minty.”

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Seriously? You’re five years old!” As Jack erupted in laugher, I pulled him toward the meeting hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As Hiccup is an aspiring baker, I thought I'd share one of his recipes. The recipe for Hardanger-style Lefse bread he made in an earlier chapter can be found here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/qt1b3i5db39jmsl/Hiccup%27s%20Lefse%20Bread.pdf  
> If you make it and enjoy it, let me know!


	16. Ice-olation

I couldn’t help myself. I’m sorry. That man was perhaps the most smelly person I’ve ever met. And Hiccup’s reaction! So worth it.

Inside this ‘meeting hall’, Hiccup stopped dead. I looked around; there were a few people sitting around a table, chatting. One of them, an older woman with dark hair, stood. “Hiccup!” she said. “I didn’t know you were visiting Dragon’s Edge!”

Hiccup blushed. “Um… Hi, mom.” I gasped and grinned. That was Hiccup’s mom! She quickly moved to Hiccup and embraced him.

“Hiccup, I have great news about the Outcasts! They’ve… who’s this?” She looked at me curiously.

I extended my hand. “Hello, ma’am. I’m Jackson Overland, I’m… friends with Hiccup.” 

She shook my hand, then pulled me into a hug. “Any friend of Hiccup’s is a friend of mine.” She pulled back and looked back and forth between Hiccup and me, as if she was reading some sort of open book between the two of us. “Hiccup… Oh Hiccup!” She beamed and stood back a little. I had the sneaking suspicion that she _knew_. How, I don’t know. Moms are weird like that.

She and Hiccup had a little chat about her , during which I learned that Hic’s mom was named Valka, she had been separated from him for almost nineteen years, she had a dragon named ‘Cloudjumper’, and I found I quite liked her, even though it was obvious Hiccup felt embarrassed introducing the two of us. I even got the hint, mainly from her curious glances, that maybe she knew I had some magic powers. As the sun set, Hiccup glanced nervously out the window.

“Well, mom, it’s been great catching up, but um… Jack and I… we have an, um… We have something we have to do. In the woods. Like, very soon.”

Valka looked back and forth between us, then smiled softly. “I see. Well, I hope you two enjoy yourselves, and be safe. Oh, and Hiccup…” She leaned down and whispered something in his ear. I didn’t catch what it was, but Hiccup immediately blushed and shook his head.

“Mom! It’s not a date! I’m not… It has to do with the moon!”

“Oh, the moon… Your father and I used to dance under the moon every weekend…”

“Mom!!!”

With a soft giggled, Valka patted Hiccup on the cheek, then turned and left. “I like her,” I said. “She’s nice.”

“If a little… embarrassing.”

“She’s your mom. She’s supposed to do that.” I smiled and nudged Hiccup’s shoulder. Then it hit me… After tonight, I might not see Hiccup again! If the moon sent me back… I’d be back home in Burgess. Frowning and biting my lip, I turned and hurried out of the meeting room.

I ran to the edge of the woods and sat down against a big oak tree. Why had I come here again? To talk to the moon, right? But what would I say? ‘Send me back’? ‘Take me to Burgess’? Was that what I really wanted? I rubbed my face, suddenly not sure of anything anymore.

“Jackson? Are you feeling okay?” It was Valka. She had somehow found me and sat down next to me, her back against the same tree.

I nodded slowly. “Yeah, I’m just… confused.”

“About Hiccup?”

“How do you…?” I sighed. “Yeah. You may have guessed, I’m not from around here.”

“I had no idea.” I glanced over at her, and she smiled at me. Of course she knew. “You are sad. Sad to leave?”

I nodded. “I think so. Going back home used to be all I thought about. Seeing my family again, being with my old friends… Picking up my life where I left it.”

Valka reached over and touched my hand. “But now you don’t want to leave.” I shrugged. “Because of Hiccup. You two belong together, Jackson.” I looked over at her, confused. “Oh come on, I’m not blind and I wasn’t born yesterday. I saw the way you two look at each other.” She grinned. “And I saw something in Hiccup’s eyes that I haven’t seen since Stoic died. Joy. Unburdened, unrestricted joy. He loves you, Jackson, although he may not realize it. And now, at these crossroads, you must decide which path your story will take you down. Do you return home? To live the rest of your life in your far-away place? Or do you stay, and become Hiccup’s partner? Your conflict is between your mind and your heart. Which do you listen to?”

“Jack!” I heard Hiccup calling for me.

“Oh, I believe that’s my cue to leave.” She stood and smiled at me. “Whatever you decide, I hope you are happy. That’s what’s most important.”

I nodded, although I felt more confused than before. She ran off, and Hiccup ran up over the hill. “Oh, Jack, there you are. I was worried, I couldn’t find you!”

I stood. “Sorry, I was just… um… nature called.” Hiccup smiled, but I could see he didn’t fully believe me. Not pressing the issue further, though, Hiccup turned and surveyed the forest.

“So… where’s a good spot to go chat with the moon?”

“A clearing in the woods… away from the rest of the village, or outpost, or whatever this place is.”

Hiccup grinned. “I know just the place.”

When we arrived, I looked around. “This should do.” I sat down on the ground in the clearing, cross-legged, looking up at the sky. The moon was a crescent, and nearly directly overhead.

“I’ll just… uh, I’ll just wait over here…” Hiccup muttered, then sat on a fallen log by the side of the clearing. I nodded but didn’t take my eyes off of the moon.

After a short while, I felt a tingle run up my spine, and the moon seemed to glow a little brighter. This was it. “Why… why am I here?” I asked, surprised how shaky and quiet my voice had become. It took a moment for the moon to answer. The moon talks in weird ways, with an echoey voice that seems to come from my own chest. I don’t even know if Hiccup could hear it.

“ _Pitch… Dark magic mixed with Time Portal. You nearly did not make it through at all._ ”

“But… but how did I end up here? How come I… wait, how do you even know that? It hasn’t happened yet!”

“ _You see the world before you, spread out to the horizon. You can look ahead, and look behind. You can see where you were, and where you are going. So it is with me and time. It passes around you as a river, carrying you inexorably to your destination. But I exist on the shore, and can walk upstream as I wish._ ”

I nodded slowly. I think I got the gist of it. “So… okay. But I’m speaking English right now, and everyone here can understand me.”

“ _You speak the tongue of those that took you in. That is a gift I have given you._ ”

“Right… so, now what? What do I do from here?”

“ _This is a decision you must make for yourself. I can pull you forward to your innate era, if you so wish. I can also leave you here with your gifts and companions._ ”

I nodded slowly. “So it’s up to me.” I sighed. “But I’ll still be stuck in this body… still immortal, right?”

“ _You will age as your body intends. The process has already begun. This cannot be stopped._ ”

I remembered how my hoodie seemed small. I was growing. I was growing!

“ _What do you wish?_ ”

“Huh?”

“ _Do you wish to return to Burgess?_ ”

I guessed I had to make a decision. I looked over to Hiccup, who was far enough away that presumably he hadn’t heard our conversation. He was watching me, a soft smile on his face, as he was sketching something in a small sketchbook. I had a sneaking suspicion that he was drawing me. In the soft moonlight, he looked simply beautiful. I took a deep breath. Did I really want to see my family again, or had I just told myself that so many times that it was what I wanted that I began to believe it?

“I want to stay with Hiccup.”

“ _Realize that you will not get another chance to return._ ”

“I know. I wanna stay.”

“ _So be it._ ” The moon drifted behind some clouds, and the clearing darkened. I sighed heavily, hoping I had made the right decision. Standing, I skipped over to Hiccup.

“Hey, Jack. Looks like you got to talk to the moon. How’d it go?”

“I’m staying.”

Hiccup blinked, a little confused. “What? What do you mean?”

“I’m not going back to Burgess. I’m staying here with you.” I stepped closer to him, resting my hand on his chest. “I’m not immortal any more. I want to grow up, finally. I want to be your partner. I want the chance to taste your bread, to explore this place, to understand your culture. I want to be with you.”

Hiccup took my hands in his, and pulled me close. “Jack… You… I don’t know what to say.”

“I do.” I gently kissed him on the lips. “I love you, Hiccup.” He blushed, and kissed me back.

Once we were back in the village… I hesitate to actually call it that, since it really is just a cluster of buildings, Hiccup and I went to find his mom. She was feeding her dragon, Cloudjumper, down by the shore. “Hiccup, Jackson. I’m sorry, Hiccup, but I have to leave for Berk tonight. I promised Alvin that I would meet Savage there in the morning to sign the trade agreement.”

Hiccup nodded. “I understand. Toothless, Jack, and I are going to stay the night, we’ll fly back tomorrow.”

“May the winds be in your favor.”

“And yours as well.” They hugged, then Valka mounted her dragon and took off. Hiccup and I watched until she was just a speck on the horizon.

“Your mom’s awesome!”

Hiccup laughed. “Yeah, she’s pretty great. I’m lucky to have her around. Let’s go get some dinner.”

To my surprise, Hiccup led me not to the big meeting hall, where it seemed everyone else was dining, but to a large bedroom in one of the connected buildings. It had a sizable porch that looked out over the water, and a table with two chairs. I looked over at Hiccup. “Is this a date?”

He grinned. “Maybe… I was going to make bacalao stew.”

“Bawhoha?”

Hiccup giggled as he lit a small fire in the hearth. “Bacalao. It’s a fish stew, made with salted codfish. It’s really good. And soda bread.” I watched as he chopped up fish, onions, potatoes, and carrots, and boiled them with some seasonings. Before long, the small room was filled with an incredible smell. After tasting it and adding a few herbs and spices, Hiccup served up two big bowls of the stew, along with a loaf of a brownish bread. After lighting a small lantern in the middle of the table, he sat next to me and leaned back a little, looking out over the sea. “Hmm…”

I looked over at him. “What’re you thinking about?”

“Being chief… This stupid winter… Just my future in general. Our future.” He looked back at me.

“You really don’t like being chief, do you?”

He shook his head. “According to Berk law, chieftainship is hereditary. Dad was chief, so when he… when he died, I became chief.” He sighed. “I never wanted that. All I want to do is explore, to study dragons, to fly with Toothless.”

I nodded. “Maybe you can give more responsibility to your council thingy?”

“Maybe… It’d have to be slow. The people of Berk aren’t good with sudden changes.”

I sighed. “Unfortunately, that seems to be true of all people. Even hundreds of years in the future, people still will have trouble with change.”

Hiccup suddenly leaned over and kissed my cheek. “You changed me. In a good way.”

“Really? How so?”

“Well…” He played with his food a little. “I always thought I was destined to be with Astrid. Ever since we first started dating, it seemed like we were fated to be together. To get married, grow old, maybe have some kids…” He grimaced. “When we started fighting… I don’t know, I thought it was just going to be something I had to deal with. You… you changed all that. You showed me that I didn’t have to spend the rest of my life as her partner, that maybe I could be with a man. That I could be with you.” He rested his head on my shoulder. “Thank you, Jack Frost.”

I shook my head. “Jackson Overland. I’m not Jack Frost any more. And I couldn’t be happier about it.”

"How come?"

I sighed again as I took a drink from my mug of water. "It's… complicated. It's not that I didn't enjoy being a Guardian. But… I never asked for it. I never asked to live for half a millennium, or to be invisible to most people. I never wanted to be locked in an epic battle of good versus evil with the nightmare spirit. The moon chose me, and I just kinda… fell into being Jack Frost. It's hard to explain."

Hiccup reached across the table and placed his hand over mine. "I understand. I feel the same way about being chief. I'm sure what you went through was a thousand times worse than even my worst days as chief, but… but I know the feeling."

I couldn't help but smile. "Thanks, buttercup. Now, what's this soup thing? Bocaca?"

He laughed. "Bacalao. It's stewed salt cod, with garlic, tomatoes, shallots, olives, potatoes, and a special secret spice mix that we get from Trader Johann. And it goes really well with this." He uncovered a clay bowl of sliced bread. "My special crusty bread, with mustard butter and a dollop of sour cream."

I sniffed his basket of bread. It smelled amazing. "You really do have a talent for bread, you know?" He blushed, and I dug into my soup. It was delicious, like everything else of his I had tasted. The fish was tender and salty, the tomatoes were cooked perfectly, and the garlic gave it the perfect amount of zing.

It really was a lovely dinner. And, as I talked with Hiccup, laughing and teasing and just enjoying his company, I knew that I had made the right decision in staying.


	17. Melt My Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up, things are gonna get hot, steamy, and R-rated in this chapter. Enjoy!
> 
> Also: This is a *FANTASY* story. In real life, always use protection and be safe.

 

After dinner, Jack helped me clean up, a funny look on his face. “That look… You’re scheming, aren’t you?” I asked softly.

He shook his head. “Why, Buttercup, I have no idea what you’re talking about! I was just wondering what was for dessert?”

“Dessert? I, uh… I hadn’t planned on having any dessert.”

Jack winked at me. “No problem… I think I might have something… sweet, that we could share together.” I frowned at him, not entirely getting what he was talking about. “Okay, Buttercup… Go sit on the edge of the bed, and close your eyes.”

“What!?!”

“Your dessert is a surprise!” I sighed and sat on the bed, watching him curiously. “You have to close your eyes, mister!”

“Fine.” I closed my eyes, a little nervous for whatever Jack was planning. I heard some strange rustling noises, and suddenly felt Jack’s presence right in front of me. He straddled my legs and sat on my lap, facing me, and then began kissing me.

This was a different sort of kiss, though. When we’ve kissed in the past, it had been soft, slow, and tender. Romantic. This was a totally different thing, though. Needy, hard, and passionate. Erotic. I wrapped my arms around Jack’s slender frame, and found that he was shirtless. I had a feeling he was probably pants-less too, but it was hard to tell.

“Hiccup…” he mumbled. “I’ve lived for longer than any sane person would ever want to live. I’ve seen more, done more… been hurt more… And yet, my time with you has been the best in my entire life. And I never want it to end. I feel like you and I, we are just… I dunno. Meant to be together. And I want to give you something in return.”

“Jack… You’ve already given me-“

“Shush. Take off your shirt and lay back on the bed.” I did as I was told, my eyes still closed and my whole body tingling with anticipation. “This, Buttercup, is your dessert. And I’ve got lots more in store, for whenever you want a little… something sweet.” He leaned over me and kissed me on the lips, then began trailing soft, hot kisses down my neck, and down my chest. Oh great Odin’s ghost, it felt incredible. Indescribable.

“Ja-ack…” I panted, feeling my pants get tight with excitement. Every time his lips met my skin, it felt like a zap from an electric eel. His hands brushed over my growing bulge, which was getting bigger and harder and honestly rather painful. Blushing madly, I realized that I hadn’t been this aroused since I was a young teenager, first exploring my body. “Oh gods, Jack, tha-AH!” I yelled out as he gently used his teeth to gently tug on one of my nipples. I had to grab the sheets of the bed to keep from arching my back and bucking him off by accident. He chuckled, and continued slowly kissing down my chest, down to the bottom of my ribcage… oh gods, he’s going to go all the way, isn’t he? “Jaahh-!! Jack…”

“Shush, I’m not done yet.” He resumed kissing my abs, his hands running up and down the sides of my torso in a way that made my skin tingle and my breath hitch in my throat. Suddenly, he came to the waistline of my pants. “Hiccup, I need you to tell me right away if you want me to stop. Otherwise I’m just gonna keep going.” My eyes still closed, I nodded quickly. “Good.” He rubbed his palms over the bulge in my pants, my whole body starting to twitch and spasm involuntarily. I felt him fiddling for a moment with the clasp, then all the pressure holding me back was gone, and I felt him tug my pants down to my knees… then came my underwear, and I heard him gasp.

“E-everything alright d-down there?” I asked, my voice unexpectedly shaky.

“Yeah… you’re just so… big!” I smiled and blushed, and quickly I felt something hot and wet wrap around my erection. For a second I thought he had wrapped a hot towel or something around me, then I realized it was his tongue. Oh gods, it felt so good! He spent a moment using his tongue to rub up and down my length, before he pulled me into his mouth and began sliding up and down, giving a little suction and making soft humming and gurgling noises. “You like that?” he asked, pulling off for a moment.

“Oh gods, yes. Oh Jack… d-don’t stop!” He quickly wrapped his mouth around me, humming a little in a way that seemed to vibrate down my stiff length. After a moment, though, he pulled off again.

“Hiccup… open your eyes.” I cracked my eyes open and looked down at Jack, who was sitting up on his knees. With a happy gasp, I noticed that he was completely naked. Had he been naked this entire time? I took a moment to take in his incredible body… His skin was porcelain smooth and flawless, and his body was devoid of any body hair at all. His… oh my gods. His erection was… it must have been a foot long! The tip was red and throbbing,bordering on purple, and he grinned as he wiggled his hips a little, his shaft swaying from side to side. “You like?”

I nodded slowly. “I like…” I reached out and grabbed his hand, then pulled him down so he was laying on top of me, our hard members pressed against each other. “I like a lot… I love. I love you, Jack.” He made a happy squeaking noise, and began thrusting his hips into me, rubbing our erections together. Feeling him against me like that, with no fabric in our way, no roaring wind or biting cold outside to distract… this must be what Valhalla is like. As I kissed him, I wondered what his butt felt like, then paused. All these thoughts, actions… this was all so foreign to me. Doing anything like this with Astrid… it seemed so unnatural. But with Jack, I just wanted to be all over his body, touching every part of him, exploring him like he was exploring me. I reached down and squeezed his butt, eliciting a soft gasp from him. I chuckled, caressing his bottom. “Jack… you have such an adorable, tiny bottom.”

He smiled, but shook his head. “My tush isn’t tiny! It’s perfectly normal.”

“Nope,” I replied. “It’s barely there at all. It’s practically nothing…” I ran my hand down his back, along his smooth butt cheeks, which truthfully were quite small, and down his thighs. “It’s a nothing-butt.”

“…Not a nothing-butt!”

I giggled and squeezed his butt again, kissing him passionately. As we kissed, I found my fingers working their way around his rear, getting close to his entrance. From the adorable noises coming from Jack, I figured that he was enjoying it, so I let my fingers explore closer, until they were circling around his tight hole. “Mmm… Hiccup… Hiccup I want you… inside me. I want it, need it, now,” he mumbled, pulling back from the kiss a little.

I nodded and pointed at my pants. “There’s a small canister of lube in the left pocket… I use it for my foot, but it’s water-based, so it should work fine for us.”

Jack nodded and quickly fetched it, then pulled my pants all the way off. He looked up at me, his neediness evident in his expression. “Should… should you take your leg off?”

I blushed. I normally only removed it when I was getting ready for bed, and I tended to be pretty self-conscious of other people seeing me without it on. But Jack… well, I guess he’s just special. I nodded, and quickly undid the harness that kept it attached to me. Laying it to the floor, I looked over at Jack. “You okay?”

He nodded, blushing. “I’ve… I’ve just never seen you without your metal leg on. Does… does it hurt?”

I shrugged. “Now and then… I’ve gotten used to it. It mainly hurts my hips and back. But right now I have… other things on my mind.” Jack grinned and nodded, before smearing his rear entrance with the transparent lube. He put a liberal amount on me as well, causing me to cringe. It was rather cold. I had a feeling, though, that being inside of Jack would be quite warm. “Hurry. I want you too.”

Jack nodded and quickly positioned himself over me. “Just… be gentle, okay?” I nodded, and Jack lowered himself onto me. At first I thought I wasn’t going to fit, but with a strangled yelp, Jack slid over me. He closed his eyes, his face contorted a little in pain.

“Does it hurt?” Jack nodded, his eyes still closed, as he took deep breaths. “Do you want to stop?” He shook his head and took a few more deep breaths, then slid himself all the way down, so that he was essentially sitting on me.

“It’s just… very tight.” I nodded. He was indeed quite tight, I could feel him constricting all around me, and I had to use every ounce of my strength to keep myself from thrusting into him. His insides were even warmer and tighter than I had anticipated, and I closed my eyes, breathing deeply, as I tried to keep myself under control. “Okay, I think I’m good… just start slow, okay?”

With a nod, I slowly began rocking my hips into Jack. Honestly, he was doing most of the work, as he was on top and supporting himself with his hands and knees. I was really just thrusting into him in time with his movements. And oh gods, those movements were incredible. Feeling him slide up and down my length, watching his pale face contort in a beautiful combination of pleasure and pain… This was what I wanted, I realized. I didn’t care about being chief, I didn’t care if I never discovered another species of dragon… As long as I had Toothless by my side and Jack in my arms, life was going to be okay.

I grinned and ran my hands up and down Jack’s body, before grabbing his length and tugging, squeezing gently. Before I knew it, I felt my climax approaching. “Ja-ack! AAHH!!! Jack I’m going to come… I’m going to… AHHHH!!!”

Jack wiped some sweat from his face. “Good… I w-want you to come inside me… come in me my sexy Buttercup…”

I reached down and wrapped my fingers around his bobbing erection, working him too as I thrust harder and deeper into him. I was so close… With a shuddering gasp, I came hard, my whole body arching up away from the bed. Jack cried out happily and came as well, his release spraying across my belly and chest. "Ja-ack…" I couldn't help moaning his name. I reached up and pulled him down to kiss him, and after a moment he wrapped his arms around me and nestled his head in the crook of my neck.

"I love you too, Hiccup."


	18. Can't Sleigh Any Longer

Waking up in Hiccup’s arms was something that I immediately decided I could get used to. His soft touch, woodsy scent… The way he looked at me with those drop-dead gorgeous green eyes when he woke up… Yep. I could get used to it.

After a quick breakfast of smoked salmon and cucumbers on some sort of toasted bread, Hiccup and I got dressed and headed out to meet up with Toothless. Apparently, Toothless was friendly with some of the other dragons on the island, and was running up and down the shore, making happy roaring noises as he chased a blue… Well, it was presumably some sort of dragon, although I’d never seen one like that before. “What’s that?” I asked, pointing at it.

Hiccup laughed as he watched Toothless frolic in the waves with the dragon. “It’s a Sliquifier. Tidal class, very loyal, and very very fast. They’re the only tidal class dragon that can go supersonic under water.”

“Wow…” I whistled. “Looks like Toothless made a friend.”

Hiccup nodded. “Seems like it. Yeah… Sometimes I worry about Toothless, though.”

“How come?”

He looked over at me. “He’s probably the last Night Fury. And as far as I can tell, Night Furies can’t breed with any other species. Poor guy.” He rested his hand on mine. “I’m afraid he’ll never get the chance to be a dad. Meet a female Night Fury, fall in love, have little baby hatchlings… It must be awfully lonely, not having anyone of the same species to be with.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I guess so. How many different types of dragons are there?”

Hiccup shrugged. “No idea. The Book of Dragons catalogues nearly thirty species. I've discovered a few myself. Mom’s kept track of new dragons she meets, too. All in all, we’ve probably encountered nearly eighty different kinds of dragons. And I’m willing to bet that we haven’t even seen half of the dragons out there. Who knows, maybe there’s whole new classes out there, just waiting to be discovered.” He looked out at the horizon. “Our world keeps getting bigger. And I’m stuck at home, being chief.”

I leaned up and kissed his cheek. “You’re smart. I’m sure you’ll figure something out.”

“Yeah, I hope.”

 

Once we were up in the air, I leaned against Hiccup. “Hey Buttercup?”

“Hmm?”

“How… How does a viking get a dragon?”

Behind me I heard Hiccup chuckle, and he wrapped his arms around me in a hug. “Does this mean you want to be a viking?”

“…Maybe,” I teased.

“Well, the bond between viking and dragon is a very strong bond. It’s not something that you can force. Some day, you’ll meet a dragon, and you just… feel something. A connection.”

I nodded slowly. “I think I understand. Like in that movie, Avatar?”

“…I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.”

I’ll take that as a yes. So I need to meet a dragon. How the heck am I-?

“Hey Jack, look at that!” Hiccup interrupted my thoughts as he pointed toward the horizon. “What in Valhalla do you think it is?”

I looked where he was pointing. There was a massive cloud formation… well, it was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. “I… I have no idea. It looks like a vertical cumulonimbus calvus with a leading-edge arcus formation and a supplementary incus… but the arcus is round… and the whole thing is surrounded by a capillatus… which is spinning!”

“Should I have understood anything you just said?”

I turned around and frowned at Hiccup, worried. “That’s a cloud structure that shouldn’t exist… can’t exist! That’s not a natural thing… something is causing those clouds. Clouds don’t just ‘spin’ like that.”

“Jack… That thing is right over Berk.” I looked down. We were above the bottom cloud layer, so I had no idea where we were, but Hiccup had pulled out… was that a wrist-mounted compass? _I’m in love with a nerd_ , I thought to myself.

“Hiccup, look there…” I pointed at the middle of the cloud formation. The whole thing had a sort of hour-glass shape to it, and right in the middle was a… a thing. From this distance I couldn’t tell what it was, but there was definitely something that wasn’t a cloud in the middle.

“Is that… a dragon? Bud, let’s take a closer look… gently.” Toothless nodded and swooped closer. As we approached, I could clearly see that it was, indeed, a dragon. And it looked like it was hurt… there was a massive rip in one of its wings. It seemed to be struggling to stay in the air. “Toothless, we need to get that dragon down to the ground.” Toothless made a soft 'yap', then flew closer to the dragon, making all sorts of strange noises. The dragon turned and looked at us… at me! I swear, it looked straight at me! Then, with a massive roar, it took off. “After it, bud!” shouted Hiccup. But it was too late, the dragon was gone.

“Hiccup… Look at the clouds!” I pointed at the clouds, which had shifted to follow the dragon. “Whatever that thing was, it's creating those clouds!”

Hiccup nodded, biting his lip. “Let’s get down to Berk, bud.”


	19. Icy A Dragon

Down on the ground it was utter chaos. Villagers were running around, some of the smaller wooden buildings had been smashed, and in the middle of the square there was a giant… was that an ice pillar? Fishlegs ran past me, clutching his cards of different dragon species. I grabbed his arm. “Fishlegs, what in Thor’s name is going on?”

“Dragon… Big… Ice… Smash… Running…” he panted, out of breath.

“Whoa whoa whoa, slow down! Take a deep breath…”

He breathed in and out. “Mulch was out gathering firewood on the north side of the island. He came across some sort of ice dragon, and it followed him back to the village. I don't know why it started attacking, but it's been on a rampage for almost an hour now!"

“Did you see its wing?”

Fishlegs nodded. “Yeah, it looked like she had gotten it snagged on something, tore right through the skin. I got a good look when she smashed up the foundry. It looked infected.”

I took a deep breath. “Fishlegs, go find Gothi. Have her mix up some of her anesthetic potion, let’s see… you and Meatlug, be ready with it in a small cauldron. Toothless and I are going to go try to lure the dragon toward the roosting bars. Once she’s under it, dump the potion on her wing. That should help calm her down a little.” Fishlegs nodded, and mounted Meatlug, his Gronkle dragon. Off they flew, and I nervously turned to face Jack.

Jack raised an eyebrow at me. “How exactly are you planning on luring the dragon to the rooster bars, whatever those are?”

I pointed up at the metal structure that ran across the town square. “Those are the roosting bars. Some dragons prefer to sleep on high structures, like cliffs or large trees. We built those a few years ago for those dragons to roost on.”

Jack nodded. “Okay… but how are you planning on luring the dragon over there?”

I shrugged. “No idea. I’ll figure it out in a moment. But first we need to find the dragon.” A loud roar and an icy crunching sound came from over by the docks. “Found it. Let’s go bud.” Jack and I climbed onto Toothless's back.

Toothless yipped and took off toward the shore. Sure enough, there was that magnificent dragon, thrashing around by the boat house. I ducked out of the way as she swung her tail at me, just barely missing my head as it smashed into the cliff side. She leaned her head back and howled.

“Okay, we found her… Now how are we going to get her up to that rooster-place?” asked Jack.

“The roosting bars. I’m working on it!”

“Well, work faster!” Jack pushed my head down against as her tail came back around. “This isn’t working… hold on.” He shot a blast of ice at the dragon, surprising her and definitely getting her attention.

“Oh great, now she’s hurt AND angry!”

“But she’s gonna follow us now!” Jack cried, pointing back at the town square.

Sure enough, as Toothless turned to leave, the dragon tracked us and followed. Once we were back in the town square, Toothless and I tried to lure her toward the main roosting bar. I could see Meatlug balancing precariously on top of the bar, with Fishlegs straddling her and holding a small metal cauldron.

“Now, Fishlegs!” I shouted, right when the dragon was in position.

“Bombs away!” called Fishlegs as he upended the cauldron. The thick, goopy potion fell down and splattered all over the dragon’s back and wings. She screeched for a moment, thrashing about and batting her injured wing, as I remembered that the potion took a few moments to kick in. Gothi used to give it to me regularly when I was still healing from loosing my foot. It would tingle and burn for a moment or two, but after a few minutes the pain is replaced by a soothing numbness. 'After a few minutes' doesn’t cut it, though, and the dragon soon remembered that she was chasing us. Another screech, and she shot an icy dagger right at us, barely clipping Jack and knocking him from Toothless’s saddle.

“JACK!” I shouted, but Toothless had already started barreling in the other direction, trying to put as much space as possible between us and the big ice-breathing angry dragon. We led her on what amounted to the standard tour of Berk: Through the main market, around the storehouse, in front of the great hall… eventually we returned to the square, and fortunately that was right about when the numbing potion kicked in. The dragon made soft, curious squawking noises as she slowed down, stopping right in front of the fountain and examining her injured wing curiously. After making sure that Jack was alright (of course he was… he was just leaning nonchalantly against the door to the Hofferson house), I hopped off of Toothless’s saddle and slowly approached the dragon, keeping my hands out in the open so she could see I didn't have any weapons.

“What… what are you?” I breathed, still standing outside of her immediate strike-zone. Beside me, I heard Fishlegs shuffling nervously through his notes.

“I-I don’t know. Level three, tidal class…” The dragon puffed up the frills around its neck, slowly creeping forward. “Or, or strike class. Maybe a hybrid? There aren’t any dragons like that in the Book of Dragons, or in any of Bork’s notes.”

“Right then,” I muttered. “A completely unknown dragon, with powers only ever seen in the Bewildebeasts.”

“But it’s definitely not a baby Bewildebeast, its head and tail are all wrong.” Fishlegs gave up shuffling through his notes, instead opting to back away as silently as he could. Unfortunately, Fishleg’s ability to move silently is comparable to the twins' ability to follow directions, and he tripped over a small wooden crate. The clatter caused the dragon to crouch down low and growl, preparing to pounce.

Jack walked past me, a distinct bounce in his step. "Well, hello mystery dragon!"

“Not right now, Frost!” I called as quietly as possible. Of course, Jack completely ignored me and just kept on walking, until he was easily within range of the dragon's tail. Perfect. Now a village _and_ a spirit to save. But surprisingly, the dragon stood up straight, blinking and tilting its head as it peered at Jack. It made a trilling, chirping noise that I recognized; that was how a dragon greets others of the same species. I’d never seen a dragon make that noise to a person before. It almost looked… fascinated with him.

“You’re beautiful,” I heard Jack whisper. I couldn’t see his face, but I knew that his eyes were wide with wonder, that innocent boyish charm he has. The dragon’s nose twitched, and it blew a small ball of blue vapor at him. Jack held his hand up and redirected the vapor up into the air, using his wind powers or whatever. The vapor congealed and burst, showering down a sparking mist of ice.

“Jack… what’re you doing?” I asked, walking up behind him. “You’re not thinking of… of course you are.” Jack was already walking toward the dragon, just feet away now, with his hand still outstretched. He was going to make friends with the dragon.

With a low murmur, the dragon lowered its head and extended its neck, brushing Jack’s palm with its nose. Jack laughed, rubbing the dragon’s chin and ears, eliciting a happy moan from it.

Now that we weren't in immediate danger of being frozen solid by the dragon, I had a chance to properly examine her. It was distinctly a female dragon, with a pointed jaw, more pronounced nose and eyebrows, and outward-facing talons on her back feet. She was marginally smaller than Toothless, but with a longer, elegant neck, and a wider tail. Her scales were iridescent white, picking up shades of blue, purple, and turquoise as she shifted in the light, and her eyes were a bright magenta.

While Jack was busy rubbing her chin, I crept beside her to take a look at her injured wing. For better or worse, I have a fair bit of experience treating wing and tail damage. Toothless walked over and sat beside me, looking at her with curiosity. She had four wings rather than two, much like a Stormcutter, although her second set of wings was positioned further down her body. Her upper right wing had a bad gash in it, going almost the full length. As Fishlegs had noticed earlier, it was swollen and infected-looking, and the amount of scar tissue made it look like it was an older injury, at least six months old.

"Fishlegs, tell Gothi that we're going to need a lot more anesthetic and antiseptic potion. That's a bad injury, it's going to take a while to heal."

* * *

“I’ve heard of that kind of dragon…” Jack and I were sitting at the table in the great hall as I sketched his new friend in my notebook. Valka had entered the hall and sat across from us, rubbing the dragon’s head. “I never thought I’d get to see you. I always thought you were just a legend, a tale the arctic travelers told each other to pass the time.” She seemed to be speaking more to the dragon than to us. “You’re likely as rare as Toothless. And probably just as lonely.”

“Toothless isn’t lonely, he’s got all of us!” I mumbled, although I knew she was right.

“Toothless has friends, but he has no mate.” Sometimes my mom can be rather blunt. “And neither do you, beautiful dragon.”

“So what is it?” asked Jack, bouncing in his seat a little.

“She is an Arctic Sky Flurry. A distant relative of the Night Furies and the Bewildebeasts. The last of the icer-class dragons.”

“I’m gonna name you ‘Windchill’. How’s that, girl?” Jack stated proudly. I grinned at him. That was a viking name through and through. I think Berk is starting to rub off on Jack.

Toothless perked his head up with a pleased purr. Apparently he approved of the name. He padded over to Windchill, sniffing her with curiosity. Windchill watched him closely as he examined her, walking in a small circle. We had built a makeshift splint for her wing that would keep her from making the cut any worse, and should lessen the pain a bit. Toothless sniffed at it, then yipped. Apparently he approved of the wing splint as well. Windchill puffed her chest out proudly, and Toothless smiled and crooned, his ears wiggling with excitement. She stuck out her tongue (which was slightly forked, just like Toothless’s) and licked his nose, sending a small pattern of frost across his face. Toothless sneezed in return, and Windchill laughed.

“Looks like Toothless has found a friend,” observed Valka, patting Jack on the shoulder. “Take good care of her, and she’ll be by your side forever.”

"Does that mean I get to keep her, mom?" I laughed awkwardly, not sure what to make of Jack calling Valka 'mom'.

Fortunately, she laughed as well. "That's up to you, Jackson. Odin knows she needs a friend, particularly after that injury. It looks like a bad brush with a Whispering Death to me. And the wilderness of Berk isn't exactly the best environment for her to have been in while healing. Particularly given the weather."

A thought occurred. "Mom, is it possible that she _caused_ the bad weather?"

She paused and frowned. "Why yes, I suppose it is possible. The tales I've heard about Sky Flurries say that they can use clouds for protection. If she was badly injured and lost, perhaps she was trying to keep other dragons away . Poor girl must have been in real distress."

Jack hugged Windchill and stroked her neck. "I'll take good care of you, girl."


	20. A Bone To Ice Pick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Hiccup sings at the end of the chapter is to the main theme from HTTYD, particularly from the bit of score "Test Flight" (but slower).

  


" _HICCUP_! Where in Jord's great wide world have you been?" I cringed, even though the girl was distinctly shouting at Hiccup. It was Astrid, and she had a terrifying look on her face. Valka had finished dinner and left, taking Windchill to have her wing examined by someone whose name I didn't recognize, and Hiccup and I were just finishing up as well. "Do you know how WORRIED I've been? You disappeared for three whole days, and didn't tell ANYONE where you went!" She stomped up to Hiccup and slapped him hard across the face.

"OW! Astrid, let me explain-"

"No, you don't get to talk yet." I hated when people used that phrase. I reached down and grabbed Hiccup's hand, giving him a gentle squeeze of reassurance. "I know you used to be the little fishbone weirdo who was always telling stories, tinkering with your… your stupid little inventions, doing who knows what when the rest of the village was trying to survive dragon attacks. But you're a grown up now. Not even that, you're CHIEF! You have an entire village - _fourteen hundred vikings_ \- looking to you to be a strong and responsible leader, and what do you do!?! You… Ugh!" She pinched her nose and mumbled something I couldn't make out. "And what about me? Huh? I had to find out from SNOTLOUT that you were back! Where did you even go!?! No, don't answer yet. I've put up with so much, Hiccup. So much! You disappear randomly, off to Odin knows where, you seem to care more about spending time with Toothless than you care about taking responsibility, and you don't even have the dignity to be honest with me."

"Astrid! When have I ever, ever lied to you?" His cheek was turning red where she had slapped him, and his eyes were distinctly wet.

She placed her hands on her hips and did a rather poor impersonation of Hiccup's voice. "Oh, Astrid! I found an invisible boy in the woods! Oh, Astrid! I didn't disappear for three days, I just wanted to map out these lame uninhabited islands! Oh, Astrid! I'd rather sit around and make BREAD than be a CHIEF!"

"But it's true, I would!"

"Hiccup, either you're crazy, or you're lying. Either way, I just… I can't do it anymore, Hiccup. The fighting, the stress, the other villagers looking to me like I somehow know what you're doing all the time… I just can't handle _this_ any more." She gestured at all of him. "I'm sorry, Hiccup. We're through."

I cleared my throat, wondering if she could see me or not. The moon had taken away some of my magic, like the magic that kept me from growing or aging… maybe I was visible to everyone now? She looked at me, actually looked me in the eyes, and made a small "oh" sound, as if she had just realized I was there. "Now, I don't know-" I began, but she cut me off.

"Hiccup, who is this?"

Hiccup, to his credit, was holding together quite well. There were tear tracks down his cheeks, and he was squeezing my hand quite hard, but those were the only indications that anything was wrong. "This is Jackson Overland, the boy I found in the woods. You couldn't see him before, because… well, you wouldn't believe me even if I told you."

She looked down at our entwined hands. "Hiccup, why are you…" I couldn't help taking a half-step closer to Hiccup, so I was standing within the 'intimacy zone'. "Oh. I get it. I'm not enough for you, huh? It's easier for you to run from women than it is to be the ONE THING we all need you to be." She sighed and turned away. "Man knows so little." I thought she was going to walk away, but she turned back and punched Hiccup in the face. Like, really actually hit him. Hard. He staggered backward, but didn't do anything else. "Goodbye, Hiccup." With that, she turned and left.

I seriously considered freezing her solid, but Hiccup needed me more than I needed revenge. He collapsed on the bench we had just been eating at, and just sort of… stared at the ground. There were other vikings in the hall, many of whom had just seen Astrid's little tantrum, and a soft murmuring was rippling through the room. I took Hiccup by the arm and helped him stand. "Come on, you need to get back home." His nose was bleeding badly, and from the way he was shaking, I could tell he was on the verge of completely breaking down. I may not know much about vikings, but no culture wants to see its leader sobbing.

I guided Hiccup back to his house. Toothless immediately hurried over, but Hiccup shoed him away. With a sad but understanding look, Toothless left. I helped Hiccup up the stairs to his room, and sat him down on the bed. Almost immediately, he burst into tears, truly crying. I sat down next to him and pulled him into my arms, stroking his hair. "Shhh… It's alright." I grabbed a towel that was near the bed and moped up the blood on his face. "It's alright, buttercup."

"No… No it's not. She was right. I'm a lousy chief. And a lousy boyfriend." He curled into the fetal position, his metal foot snagging on the blankets. "A lousy viking… a lousy friend… a lousy leader."

I carefully disentangled his foot from the sheet. "No, you're not. You're none of those things. You're an amazing friend. My friend. And, from what I've seen, a pretty decent chief."

He shook his head. "N-no, I'm not. I try to be… I try to live up to my dad's legacy, but I just… I can't. I'm not good enough."

I pulled him into my lap and held him close. "Maybe you should stop thinking of all the things you're not. Because I'm not many things too. I'm not a viking, I'm not a guardian anymore, I'm not an inventor like you, I'm not a girl like _her_ , and I'm certainly not perfect. And neither are you. But you know what you are? You're amazing. You're talented, both in the workshop and in the kitchen. You trained a dragon. You survived losing a limb. You saved me from freezing to death. Okay? You're plenty of good things." His nose was runny from crying, and I gently wiped it with the towel. If it had been anyone else, I would have been repulsed, but with Hiccup, it just made me feel bad for him. I gently kissed his forehead as he calmed down.

"T-thank you, Jack. I don't know what I would do without you."

I kissed him on the lips this time. "You'd have to wipe your own nose."

He laughed, and snuggled against my chest. "I'm sorry you had to see that. I didn't think Astrid would be so… confrontational. And I'm sorry you had to see me l-like this."

I curled my legs around his. "You shouldn't be. I want to be here to take care of you. I want to be the one to wipe your nose and clean your face and make you smile."

He gently stretched out from the fetal position. "I feel the same about you."

"Hiccup?"

"Hmm?"

"How come people keep saying that you run from women?"

He looked up at me. "Because I'm with you now. I run from women to be with men. It's stupid, because I've never wanted to be with another man, until you, but… I suppose I can't argue with it."

"Huh. In the future, people call it 'being gay'."

Hiccup frowned. "Being happy?"

I shrugged. "I don't know where the term came from. Although, given how I feel when I'm with you, it does seem pretty appropriate."

Hiccup nodded and snuggled into me, nuzzling my chest. After a while he began to hum softly, then sang, in a soft, low voice.

_It's cold and dark and far from home,_  
I still have far to travel on.  
The darkness frights, the coldness bites,  
And yet I sing a lover's song.

 _For when you're next to me I feel_  
Your warmth, your heart, your strength, your gift  
You take the night and make it glow,  
You heat the air and melt the snow.

 _So take my hand and come with me_  
I'll take you back and keep you safe  
You mean so much to me, my friend  
My love, my mate, my strength, my fate

 _You've changed me to a better path_  
I'm full of light and joy and laughter  
And if you'll have me, take me, want me,  
We can spend our lives together.

 _This feeling deep inside of me_  
As peaceful as the springtime's dove  
When you're close you set me free  
and fill me with the warmth of love

He stopped singing, and I leaned down and kissed him. "Hiccup… That was beautiful." I kissed him again and again, trying to put as much love as I could into every touch of our lips. "You fill me with the warmth of love too."


	21. Frost Bitten

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Smut ahead

“Okay, Jack,” I said, as he and Windchill entered the dragon training arena. “Ready for your first lesson?”

Jack looked over at Windchill, who seemed completely fascinated with some non-existent piece of dust floating two feet over Jack’s head. “Yes we are,” he said, nodding. Windchill's wing still wasn't healed enough for her to fly, but with the return of decent weather (by Berk standards, at least), and Windchill getting a little stir-crazy, I figured it couldn't hurt to do some basic on-the-ground training.

“Right. Okay. There are three critical components of dragon training. The most important one is establishing trust and respect between dragon and rider.”

“Respect. Trust. Roger.”

“Who?”

“Never mind.”

“…Moving on. So typically how we begin with new riders and untrained dragons is just getting Windchill used to you."

"She's already used to me, see?" Jack rubbed her chin, and she crooned softly.

"Try lifting her foot, as if you're going to inspect her claws." Jack bent down and tried to grab at her leg, and, as is typical for dragons that aren't used to physical contact with their new riders, she kicked him in the chest. Not hard enough to injure him, but enough to get him to stumble backward. "See? Scratching her chin is okay, because she can see you, and her chin isn't particularly vulnerable. But if her legs are restricted, she can't push off the ground to take flight, and she can't defend herself without her claws. She needs to get comfortable with you handling her, so you can strap on her riding saddle, and so you can help her if she gets injured. Likewise, you're going to have to get used to her handling you." He looked up at me, alarmed. "If you fall from your saddle while you're riding her, or if she needs to get you out of harm's way, she's going to grab you any way she can. Of course, you and I are a lot more fragile than dragons, and Windchill is going to have to learn what your limits are, how she can interact with you without hurting you."

"So… how do I do all that?" Jack looked a little overwhelmed.

I walked over to him, and guided his hand to her neck. "Start with rubbing her or itching her somewhere she's comfortable with. Take it slowly… that's it. Now, gently work your way down to her legs. Don't take your hand off of her, so you don't startle her. And try to stand still while you're doing it. There you go. Imagine you're giving her a massage."

"That's it? Just rub her, like this?"

"Exactly. Do this as often as you can, over the next few days. Eventually, you'll be able to lift her leg like you tried to earlier. Knowing that you can rely on your dragon or on your rider is the most important thing. You will get to the point where you are each an extension of the other. You’ll know when she’s going to turn, how she’s going to land, what she’s thinking, when she's hungry, what she wants… and she likewise will get to understand you, know you, on a deeply personal level.”

“Like you and me?”

I blushed, and half-nodded. “Sort of. Now, the other thing that you need to do with Windchill is to get her used to her name. As far as I can tell, dragons have their own names for each other, but we have no way of knowing what they are, and even if we could, there's no way we'd be able to pronounce them. I've been working on picking up basic sounds from Toothless, but… Well, it's difficult."

"Tell me something in Dragon-speak!"

I shook my head. "It's not really a language, really. More of a… a loose collection of ideas. For example…" I grabbed some fish from the bucket we used for treats during training. "This, roughly, means food." I did my best to make the sound. It's really hard, because dragons can make noise while both inhaling _and_ exhaling. The closest I could get to the right noise was a cross between a burp and "Nyerga-aru-u-u". Windchill tilted her head to one side and gave me a very confused look, and Toothless wandered over, looking amused. He made the correct sound, and Windchill immediately perked up and looked at the fish in my hand. I threw it to her, and she caught it in midair.

"That was… AWESOME!" Jack whooped, and I couldn't help grinning. "I wanna try it. Um… what was it? Nyargy-ru!" Toothless wandered off, and Windchill yawned.

"Let's move on. You go stand on the far side of the training area, and call out to Windchill. Try to get her to come over to you. You can use these fish to reward her."

Jack grabbed the bucket and skipped over to the far side, where he called for Windchill. "Hey, Windchill! Windchill! Windchill? Oh Windchill!!! Oy, Ice Breath!" He threw a snowball at her, smacking her square on the nose. She huffed, and blew a blast of icymist at Jack, tossing him backward and dumping him in the dirt. I hurried over and helped him back up. 

"Let's try that again," I said, grabbing another fish from the bucket.

* * *

A dozen tries later, and Jack was covered in dust and dirt, had a small bruise on his arm, and looked rather grumpy. "Maybe we call it a day?" I offered.

"Hiccup, this better be worth it, because I'm sore, dirty, and don't feel like I've made any progress."

I smiled and took his hand. "Trust me, it was worth it. Plus, now I get to clean you up."

Jack's lopsided smile returned. "Shower time?"

"Bath time." His smile grew wider.

* * *

Back at my house, I had Toothless heat up a large tub of water. Jack stripped down to his underpants, and I couldn't help but stare. He was simply beautiful. After I got my eyeful, I stripped down as well, feeling rather self-conscious. "Um… Underwear too?" I asked, fingering the drawstring on my underpants. Jack nodded, and slipped out of his final garment, revealing that he was quite aroused. To be honest, I was too, and I heard Jack gasp softly as I shed my last bit of clothing. Trying not to blush (but failing), I climbed into the tub, sinking down to my neck in the soothingly hot water.

"May I join you, buttercup?" Jack asked teasingly, and I held my hand out to help him in. He climbed in and sat down between my legs, his back against my chest. I liked when we were in that position, whether on Toothless's back, laying in bed, or like this, in the bath tub. We seemed to fit together perfectly.

Jack wiggled his butt a little against my erection, and I wrapped my arms around his chest, snuggling close. "Jack… you're filthy."

He laughed. "That's what tends to happen when a crazy snow lizard tosses you in the mud over and over."

I reached over to the small stool by the side of the tub and grabbed a lump of soap. I took my time rubbing it all over Jack's body, letting my fingers glide over his perfect skin. I enjoyed finding the spots where he was ticklish (underarms and just below his ribcage), and the spots that made him gasp and moan (nipples, neck, and the backs of his thighs). After washing his hair and cleaning the suds from his body, I kissed him on every body part, from his forehead to his toes. I skipped the part between his bellybutton and thighs, as I wanted to save the best for last.

I quickly drained the soapy water from the tub and filled it with clean, warm water from the reservoir, then I told Jack to sit on the side of the tub. There was a wide enough ledge for him to sit comfortably, and he could lean back against the wall of the house. "What are you doing?" he asked, his eyes sparkling.

"Oh, just giving you a little treat for being such a good sport today." I wrapped my fingers around his erection, giving it a firm squeeze.

"Mmm… If this is gonna be a regular thing, I think I'm going to like being a viking."

I looked up at him and smiled. "It's not a viking thing. It's more of a… a Hiccup thing." I bent down and swirled my tongue around his tip. It was already reddish purple, and I could feel his blood pumping as I squeezed him. I let go with my hand, and took him all the way into my mouth. Well, as far as I could go without gagging. He was really quite large; I could barely wrap my tongue all the way around him. I added some suction, and got a low moan in response. Perfect.

"H-Hiccup…" One of his hands threaded through my hair and came to rest on the back of my head. For a moment, I was a little worried that he would push my head down further, which would definitely make me gag, but when his fingers began to stroke my scalp and ears, I relaxed. I trusted him.

I started bobbing my head up and down, sliding his shaft almost all the way out of my mouth, swirling my tongue around the tip, then plunging back down as far as I could go. One of my hands reached down to stroke the underside of his thigh, where I knew he was sensitive, and the other wandered up his chest, finding and gently pinching a nipple. I remembered what Jack had done for me when we last did this, and I experimentally hummed, keeping my lips wrapped firmly around him. Another moan, and a soft whimpering sound. Seems like it felt as good for him as it had for me.

"H-Hic… Oh yes… Mmm…" He shook a little and slightly bucked his hips, but I quickly moved my hand to his waist so I could hold him steady. With a wonderfully erotic grunt, he came in my mouth.

I have to admit, I hadn't quite thought it all through. Him releasing in my mouth came as a surprise, although I don't know what else I could have been expecting. It had a bitter, slightly minty flavor to it that I didn't particularly care for, and I quickly spat it out into a nearby towel, then wiped my lips off. Jack was panting, his eyes closed, and I gently pulled him back into my arms in the tub. He kept his eyes closed, and curled against my chest. We just sat there for a while, in the warmth of the water, letting our pulse return to normal and catching our breath. "Jack…" I gently stroked his snow-white hair. It was incredibly soft and fine. "I love you."

"I love you too, my crazy viking boyfriend."

I looked down at him. "B-boyfriend?"

He opened his eyes. "Isn't that what we are?"

"Um… I suppose so. But if we're boyfriends, doesn't that mean we're dating? As in, going on dates?"

"Yeah?"

"But we haven't really had any dates. Just that one, back on Dragon's Edge."

Jack smirked. "Maybe we should change that. Wanna go on a date with me tonight?"

I couldn't help hugging him. "I would love that."


	22. Cold Shoulder

It was absolutely adorable the way Hiccup got all flustered about our date. He hurried around his house, cleaning and organizing and scrubbing. Why he felt the need to clean his house after I'd been staying with him all this time, I had no idea, and he wouldn't let me help, so I just sat and watched. There was something beautiful and mesmerizing about the way he moved. I suppose the best way to describe it would be 'casually elegant'. He flails and flaps his arms a lot when he talks, and he's always shifting his weight from foot to the other, but he does it elegantly… somehow. Like every move is part of a choreographed dance.

Toothless and Windchill were both hanging out with us, and I noticed that Windchill seemed to be getting awfully… _touchy_ with Toothless. She kept looking at him, then resting her chin on his shoulder, then she's stretch and let her good wing drape over his back. Toothless seemed more than okay with it, as he would smile and wiggle his tail whenever they touched. Huh.

There was a soft knock at the door, and I hopped up, glad for something to do. "I'll get it!"

I opened the door, then immediately shut it. It was Astrid. This was my day to be with Hiccup, I didn't need her ruining it for me. "Who was that?" asked Hiccup.

"Nobody," I responded.

"Hiccup, it's me, open up!" came Astrid's voice from behind the door.

Hiccup sighed and pulled the wooden door open. "Astrid." His voice was flat and expressionless, as was his face.

I noticed that Heather girl standing behind her. "Hiccup, look… I… I'm sorry. About last week."

"You punched him in the face!" I shouted.

She looked down and rubbed her arm. "Yeah… Okay." She leaned against the door frame. "I was immature and emotional, and I shouldn't have done that. Of course, you were-" Heather cleared her throat quite loudly. "Look, when the ice dragon was attacking, everyone came to me, as if I would know what to do. I didn't even know where you were! And I… I just sort of… flipped out. Particularly when Snotlout… But that doesn't matter." She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry I hit you, and I'm sorry I shouted at you in front of the other villagers. That's not how adults should resolve problems. And the villagers don't need to see their chief yelled at like that. I… I talked to everyone, and explained that I was wrong, and that I shouldn't have done that. A-and Heather said that I owe you an apology. Which I do."

"Astrid, I understand. You were right about most of what you said. I shouldn't have disappeared like that, without telling anyone where I was going. And I'm really not doing a good job as chief."

"No, that's not what-" Hiccup held up his finger to silence her.

"It's true. I'm not being a good chief. And I know that the village needs a strong leader right now. That's one of the reasons I created the council of elders in the first place. But I'm not planning on getting any better at being chief. I don't _want_ to be chief, I never did. I was so caught up in what everyone expected of me… I didn't have a chance to think about what _I_ wanted." He reached over and took my hand. "Astrid, I'm sorry that you and I didn't work out. And I'm sorry that it took us so long to figure out that we weren't going to work together. I know that it hasn't been easy for you… Trust me, it hasn't been a walk in the fields for me either." He looked past her to Heather. "Maybe now, we can all have a chance to think about what we want, and act on it."

Heather stepped up and took Astrid's hand. "Thank you, Hiccup," she said. Astrid nodded, and turned away.

"I wasn't expecting that…" I mumbled as Hiccup closed the door.

"Oh, I figured Astrid would come to talk after she cooled down. I didn't think it would be so soon though. Maybe Heather is a good influence on her after all."

"What are you going to do about the whole 'chief' thing?"

He shook his head. "I have no idea. Well, actually, I have a ton of ideas, but most of them wouldn't work."

"Can't you just… I don't know, make a law that says you retire?"

"Unfortunately, no. Well, technically, yes. I can propose laws to the tribe, but if enough people don't like it, they can overrule me. I don't remember that ever happening, but no chief has ever tried to retire before. And I can't _truly_ retire. There are some critical decisions for the tribe that only I can make. Those I don't mind. It's the day-to-day stuff I can't stand. Resolving minor disputes, managing inventory, logging and archiving monthly minutes, running meetings… Ugh." He rubbed the sides of his head.

"So why not just do that? Make a rule that says that you are only responsible for the big stuff? Your council thingy can handle everything else."

He shook his head. "The tribe would never go for it. They'd veto it right away."

"Why?" I tilted my head to one side. "Why should you be in charge of taking inventory, or… those other things you said? Aren't there other people better qualified?"

Hiccup frowned, and sat down on a bench. "For individual things, yes. But there's no one person who can do everything perfectly."

"Exactly!" Hiccup jumped a little. "Sorry, I didn't mean to shout. But if you explain it to the tribe the same way you just explained it to me, wouldn't the tribe be okay with it? No single person can do everything, so you're giving that power to the council, because they're _many_ people. Then whoever on the tribe is best at one thing will do that one thing, and someone else will do another thing… I'm not explaining this very well, am I?"

Hiccup bit his lip, thinking. "You know, you may be on to something here. I never thought about being all… _diplomatic_ about it. Yeah!" He jumped up, his green eyes sparkling with excitement. "That's it! I need to go talk to Gothi, to make sure I do this right. Mr. Frost, you are brilliant!" He swept me into a warm hug, and I couldn't help giving him a tender kiss on the nose. "I'll be back later. Then we can have our date!" He practically skipped out the door, beaming.

I grinned and turned to Windchill and Toothless, who had both been unusually quiet and still. They were laying side by side by the hearth, and their tails were sort of… wrapped together. I don't know how Toothless did it without hurting her, with that doohickey on his tail, but they both looked content. Seemed like I wouldn't be the only one having some romance tonight, I thought, as I started poking through Hiccup's kitchen.


	23. Snowing Steady

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mentioned it before, and I'll mention it again. This story is a FANTASY. Always practice safe sex, no matter what.
> 
> You can find the recipe for Jack's lamb chops here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/at6heat40hlqhoz/Jack%27s%20Lamb%20Chops.pdf
> 
> If there is interest, I can post the recipes for the au jus, the gougeres, and the vegetable byaldi. Also as a reminder, the recipe for Hiccup's Lefse bread is available; link is in the notes for one of the earlier chapters. Enjoy!

My meeting with Gothi went great. She had confirmed (with a lot of gesturing and drawing in the sand with her walking stick) that what Jack had proposed would work. I would have to be extra careful about my wording, and use every little bit of persuasion I had, but if I pulled this off… I smiled to myself, already fantasizing about having fewer responsibilities.

When I got back to my house a few hours later, I stopped at the door. Something smelled amazing. I pulled the door open, and gasped.

Jack had rearranged the furniture in the main room, and done some re-decorating as well. Gone were the low benches, the crates of spears and axes, the storage chests full of Loki-knows-what; these had all been pushed up against the far wall. In the center of the room, Jack had made a small table from an empty barrel and a large prototype shield. It was set with a deep red tablecloth, and featured a single candle and two plates. All of the windows had yellowish makeshift curtains on them, giving the room a soft amber glow. And on just about every flat surface, there were roses and candles.

The winter spirit himself was standing in the kitchen, wearing… Oh gods. He was wearing a light blue vest and a white shirt, both of which looked to be perfectly fitted to him, showing off his slim chest. He had on matching blue trousers with a black band around the waist, and I swear it was designed to accentuate his butt. His hair, which seemed to have a tendency to stick up at weird angles, had been… Well, I don't know what he had done with it, but it looked stunning.

"J-Jack… You look amazing…" I shut the door and walked to him. "Where did you get these clothes? The tablecloth? The roses?"

He smirked, that silly lopsided smile he has. "I had a little help from one of your friends."

"Oh?" I blinked. Did any of my friends know we were together? Other than Astrid and Heather? "Who would that be?"

He bit his lip, thinking. "Those twins… the boy."

"Tuffnut!?!"

He nodded. "He has a real knack for interior decorating, did you know that? And fashion design?" I shook my head silently. "Now, I have a little bit of cooking left to do… You're welcome to help, or you can just keep me company while I finish up."

I looked down at what I was wearing… It was just my basic green tunic, with gray pants and a leather coat. "Um… I feel a little underdressed. I didn't know you were going to get all dressed up. I'll go change while you finish cooking."

He looked me over. "Nah. You look perfect just like this."

"But Jack…"

"Nuh-uh. Either you wear that, or you go naked." He pointed a mixing spoon at me. "And if you're naked, I don't think I'll be able to get through dinner without jumping you. So stay in that."

I sighed. "So immature," I muttered, and stepped over to the kitchen counter. "What are you cooking? It smells amazing."

He handed me a cast iron pan. "Make yourself useful and put some oil on his, then get it nice and hot over the fire. I'm making herb-crusted lamb chops with carrot and parsnip puree, veggie byaldi, and cheesy gougeres."

I blinked slowly. "I got about a third of that, I think. Lamb chops, carrots, and parsnips. Then you lost me."

He chuckled, and peeked inside a tin of something. "Just about ready. Buttercup, can you put the meat on the pan? Put it in fatty-side down, please."

I did as I was told, and then came up behind him, peeking over his shoulder. "What's the rosemary for?"

"I'm doing an _au jus_ for the lamb. Stir, please." He handed me a spoon and pointed at a pot of something dark red and simmering.

"I had no idea you were so good at cooking…"

He grinned and kissed my cheek. "I'm not exactly the world's best chef due to lack of practice, but, being invisible and having lived for so long, I have had plenty of chances to learn from the best. I've sat in on classes at the Greystone Culinary Academy and Le Cordon Bleu. I've shadowed Urbain DuBois, Julia Child, Thomas Keller, and Jena Cahoone. So I know my way around a kitchen."

"I have no idea who or what those are."

"Um… School, school, chef, chef, chef, chef."

"There are cooking… schools?"

"Not yet. But there will be in a thousand years or so. Can you flip the meat?"

"Jack… What's it like, in the future? You… you didn't recognize any of our dragons."

He paused from tossing something in a frying pan. "No… There aren't any dragons in the future. But remember, a thousand years is a long time. For all I know, dragons could have evolved into something else, like… I dunno, ostriches, or capybaras. There was… will be… Hmm. In the future, there was a time when a lot of records were lost. People stopped caring about reading, or learning. Tons of books disappeared, innovation was stifled, scientists were persecuted… It was a dark time. But that was before I was born, so I don't know too much about it. Things change fast. From the nineteenth to the twentieth century, western culture kinda… exploded. In a good way." He sighed. "But I don't wanna talk about it right now. I wanna talk about being here, with you." He set down his pan and hugged me. "This is my world now. I chose to stay here, and I don't want to focus on what I left behind. I want to learn about where I'm going to be. Can you grab the lamb chops, please? Careful not to burn yourself."

I grabbed a towel and handed him the pan. He took the lamb chops, dipped them in something that looked like mustard, rolled them in the powder that was in the other frying pan, then asked me to hand him the plates. He spooned a little of the parsnip stuff onto each plate, then added the lamb, then opened the tin that had been sitting by the hearth. With a spatula, he scooped out thinly sliced vegetables that smelled like Valhalla, and laid them artfully on top of the lamb. Lastly, he ladled some of the deep red liquid onto them, and carried them to the table.

"My love, your dinner is served." He bowed low, and I couldn't help but giggle. He had arranged the table so we were sitting more next to than across from each other, and our knees just touched when we sat down. The cups were already full of cold water, and the soft candlelight made his porcelain skin glow. All in all, it was absolutely perfect.

Jack's food was amazing. The lamb was cooked perfectly, the crust that he rolled it in gave it just a hint of bite, the vegetable thing was tender and slightly sweet, and the miniature rolls, which he called 'gougeres', were simply stunning. "Can you teach me how to make these?" I asked, grabbing another one to mop up some of the… what did he call it? _Au jus_?

He smirked. "Only if you teach me to make that danger lefty bread."

"Why do you always…? It's _hardanger lefse_. Sure. I can teach you all sorts of breads, brown soda bread, heart waffles, zucchini loaf, cinnamon-apple muffins, all sorts of things!" Jack laughed, and I couldn't help grin. I do sometimes get a little over-excited about baking.

"I'd love that." Jack reached across the table and rested his hand on mine. "I wanna learn all about vikings and your customs and foods and traditions and things. Oh! Do you celebrate Christmas?"

"Christmas?"

"Right, you're not Christian. Um… a winter holiday with gift giving and family time?"

"Oh, yes. Snoggletog. It's actually coming up in a few weeks. The whole village celebrates. We have yaknog, and build a giant Snoggletog tree in the square, and everyone gives each other gifts. Oh, and it's also when dragons mate."

Jack choked on his water. "They all mate… at the same time?"

I nodded. "Dragons are very vulnerable when they're raising their young, so they all lay their eggs around the same time. That way, there's strength in numbers. It used to be that our dragons would all go to a special Breeding Island, which is a volcanic island about a three-hour flight from here, to lay their eggs, but we've worked out a way to have our dragons stay here when they lay their eggs. See, for a number of species, particularly boulder class and stoker class dragons, the hatching process is a little… explosive. But we now have a special rookery building that's designed to withstand egg shrapnel. Plus, it's more protected from weather and predators than the Breeding Island, and we can help take care of the hatchlings."

Jack whistled. "You've really thought of everything, haven't you?"

I shrugged. "When there's a problem, we fix it. It's the viking way. And having some of our closest friends disappear for our biggest holiday is a problem. So we fixed it."

"You know, you're not at all what I thought vikings would be like."

"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow. "And what were you expecting?"

"You know, dumb, backwards, bloodthirsty savages."

"There are certainly some vikings that are like that. The Berserker Tribe is pretty violent, and the Outcasts aren't exactly the sharpest axes in the shed. I don't know much about the Meathead tribe, they mostly keep to themselves. But I like to think that we Hairy Hooligans are a big more refined-" Jack burped loudly. "…Than some others."

"Excuse me." He grinned. "And your tribe is cool with two guys being together?"

"Eh, more or less. There are still some curmudgeons that say it's inappropriate or unnatural, but for the most part we're pretty accepting. It helped a lot when Stoic nominated Gobber to be his chief advisor."

"Why's that?"

"Hmm? Oh, Gobber's… what did you call it? Joyful?"

"Gay?"

"Yeah, that's it. His partner died before I was born, but if you give him the chance, he'll talk your ears off about ol' Ingvar the Lumpy. Oh, and Bucket and Mulch have been together for almost five years now. They're not married, but they might as well be. They bicker like a married couple."

"Huh. Well, like I said, you're nothing like I expected. Although some of the Berk… Berker…"

"Hooligans."

"Yeah, some are as smelly as I expected."

I grinned. "Yeah, that's an old viking tradition that we really don't need anymore. They say that vikings should smell as fearsome as they look. But… Well, I'm not really much of a warrior, and I don't really care for fighting. So I don't have any interest in looking, or smelling, fearsome. Plus, I like being clean."

Jack reached over and ran his fingers through my hair. "I like you being clean too."

We continued chatting as we finished our dinner. I explained the history of the Hairy Hooligans, and Jack told me about seeing a show by a man named Wagner, or Voggner (Jack wasn't consistent about how he pronounced it), that was all about Nordic gods and dragons and vikings. It turns out that the story was based on one of our folktales, which I thought was pretty neat.

"That was delicious," I said, leaning over and kissing Jack on the forehead. I grabbed his plate and went to the kitchen, but Jack cleared his throat.

"What are you doing?"

"Cleaning up? Is there something wrong with that?"

"No, but I wanna snuggle with you and continue our date, not do chores." He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. "Besides, I should be the one to clean up."

I laughed as I scrubbed the plates clean. "Dad was like that." I did my best impression of his voice. "You make the mess, you clean the mess." I turned around to face Jack. "I prefer mom's way. You did your share by cooking, I'll do my share by cleaning." I gave him a kiss on the nose, then turned back and continued cleaning up.

"Ugh…" Jack moaned. "Fine. I'll just be here… helping." He slipped his fingers into the waistband of my pants, and gave them a little tug. They slipped down to my thighs, then he stepped back, and now I was stuck. In order to pull my pants back up, I would have to set down the pot I was washing. But I was using my elbows to keep my pants from falling any further down, and putting the pot back in the sink would cause my pants to fall all the way down.

"You are in so much trouble, Frostyboy." I mumbled, giving up and letting my pants fall to the ground. I was still wearing my underpants, so it wasn't like I was naked, but I had a feeling Jack didn't care. I quickly finished the dishes, stepped out of my pants, and turned around. "If I'm stuck in my underpants, you have to be the same."

"Okay!" Jack looked a little too willing as he stepped out of his pants, and I immediately felt my face redden. He hadn't been wearing _anything_ underneath his pants. He wasn't aroused (yet), but he had a very cheeky grin on as he stood there, his legs slightly spread and everything showing.

"Somehow this doesn't seem conducive to snuggling," I mumbled, but walked over to him anyways and took him in my arms. "What else do you have planned for this evening, you little troublemaker?"

"Hmm… Well, I thought about maybe watching the sun set, but now… I have a much better idea."

"Dare I ask?"

"Dare, dare!"

"What's your idea?"

Jack beamed. "Why, thank you for asking, buttercup. It's my own little variation of Truth or Dare. I call it… Truth or Strip."

"Jack, you're already half-naked. That hardly seems fair."

"You're right! You should take your underwear off, too!"

"What? No."

He smirked. "Then… truth or strip?"

"Truth, but first we should go to my bedroom. At least that way, mom won't wander in and see you stark naked."

"Good point." He hurriedly pulled me up to the bedroom, and sat on his knees on my bed. I sat on the edge and carefully swapped my metal walking leg for the wooden one I tend to wear in the bedroom. "Okay, Truth. Hmm… Are you a virgin? I mean, were you one before you and I made love?"

"Yes. Astrid once tried to do stuff with me, but I just… never really got into it. Truth or strip?"

"Truth."

"Have you ever seen another guy naked, before you met me? Specifically, a guy naked and aroused?"

"Yep."

"What? Who?"

"Callon Stevens."

I frowned. "Who is that?"

He smirked. "That was three questions, but I'll answer it anyways. He was a musician in a local band I used to like. He uh… He had a bit of a wanking addiction. And I thought he was beautiful. A conceited jerk, but beautiful. Every now and then, he would leave the curtains in his bedroom open, and I'd sit outside, watching him."

"You little pervert!" I threw a pillow at him.

"I'll admit, I felt guilty about it for years, particularly when he grew up and his marriage fell apart. Those were… not my best years. That was back before I was a guardian, when I was invisible to everyone. I felt… I felt unwanted. Nobody knew I existed, everyone was loosing interest in having fun… Watching Callon, I could just about pretend that he was putting on a show for me. He wasn't, of course, but if I tried really hard, I could remember what it felt like to be loved, to be wanted, to be acknowledged…"

My heart broke a little, and I pulled him into my arms. "Jack… I'm so sorry. I didn't… It's easy to forget that you've been through so much. I promise you'll never feel unwanted again."

He looked up at me with those big, beautiful blue eyes. "Thank you."

"And, since I did technically cheat in asking multiple questions, I suppose it's only fair that I remove some clothing."

Jack pointed at my shirt, and I discarded it into the laundry basket. "Now I get to ask you."

"Truth, since I just stripped."

"Fair enough. Um… Oh! What's your fetish?"

"My fetish?" I blushed. "I don't really have one, as far as I know…"

"Oh, come on. Everyone has a fetish or a kink or two. I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours!"

I shrugged. "I can't tell you what I don't know myself."

He leaned back, frowning. "Okay… Close your eyes." I closed them. "Imagine the sexiest, hottest, most erotic thing you can possibly think of. Preferably involving me."

"Okay."

"Now describe the thing that gets you going most."

"Umm…" I focused on the image I had in my mind. "Well, you're in your underpants… and they're really tight… And you're rubbing yourself all over me…"

"Great! That's frotting and tight undies. I can do that!"

"What about you?" I asked.

"You're supposed say Truth or Strip first."

"Truth or Strip?"

"Strip!" He bounced a little on the mattress. "But you can also ask me a question if you want."

I told him to take his blue vest off and unbutton his shirt halfway. I ran my fingers down his chest. "What about you? What's your fetish?"

"Me?"

"No, the other person I'm playing this game with. Yes, you!"

He smirked. "Oil. I want to lube you up… get your whole body nice and slippery and shiny. That, and…"

"And what?"

He blushed, which was rare. "Nothing, it's silly. You'd never go for it anyways."

"What?" I frowned. "You don't know that. Tell me… please?"

He huffed softly. "Fine. I… I've always wanted to try on women's clothing. N-not, like, in public or anything! I've just… always wanted to know what it feels like. A short skirt, maybe some lacy underwear…" He hid his face in the pillow.

I laid down next to him, stroking his cheek. "Jack… There's nothing wrong with that. If it makes you feel good, then I want to try. Plus, who knows. Maybe I'll really like it! You, in tight panties? Yeah, I think I could go for that."

He looked at me apprehensively. "Seriously? You're not, like, weirded out by it? O-or repulsed?"

"Should I be?" He shrugged, still blushing. "Jack, I'm in love with you. Not just your body, or the fact that you're a guy, or your magic powers. I'm in love with you, Jackson Overland. Regardless of what you're wearing or how you look or what parts you have. Okay?"

He nodded, his eyes sparking. "Can we skip the rest of the game? Hearing you say that… you have no idea how turned on that makes me."

I looked down. "Oh, I think I have a good idea of how turned on you are." I wrapped my fingers around his erection. "But we do have a few last bits of clothing in our way."

With impressive speed, Jack stripped off his shirt and my underwear. I didn't see where they ended up, because Jack immediately rolled so he was laying on my chest, his fingers threading through my chest hair. "Hiccup… I don't know what I've done to deserve a boyfriend like you, but I'm sure glad I've got you."

"I think you've done plenty to deserve to be happy. And I want to make you as happy as I possibly can." I kissed him tenderly as I rocked my hips, rubbing against him. "Because you make me so happy."

He moaned and rocked his hips as well, our erections pushed together between us. It felt sinfully good, and I couldn't help making a small moan of pleasure as we sped up our movements.

"Hiccup… oh my buttercup…" He panted softly, and I snuck in another kiss between breaths. "Ohhh yes…"

I came suddenly, my orgasm much sooner than I anticipated. "AAHH!!! Jack… mmm…"I reached down and took our shafts in my hand, squeezing them together, and almost immediately I felt him climax as well. His release went everywhere. A lot got on my face, and I couldn't help smirking. "Someone had some pent up energy."

"Hush your face." He bent down and slowly licked up his release from my cheeks and chin. It was a little weird when he kissed me immediately after. I could taste both his minty lips and tongue, as well as his salty, slightly sweet white stuff. I wasn't sure if I enjoyed it or not, but I certainly wasn't complaining, not with Jack straddling me and running his hands up and down my chest. "So much for a sappy romantic end to our date."

"What do you mean? This seems perfectly romantic." I rolled onto my side and held him close, his head nestled just under my chin. "You and me, together, just relaxing in each other's arms. I couldn't imagine a better way to end our date."

Jack hummed softly, then snuggled further into me. We spent quite a while just laying there, savoring the stillness and peacefulness that came after making love.


	24. Igloo With Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Said it before, I'll say it again: This story is a FANTASY. Always practice safe sex, no matter what.

  


“Hey Buttercup?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I give you a massage?”

Hiccup looked at me with a curious expression on his face. “Yeah, I guess so… why, though? Did I earn it?” He smiled with a sort of innocent puppy-dog eyes look at me.

“Nope. Not at all. I'm just feeling in a very touchy mood right now.”

“Eh, fair enough. Want me to take my shirt off again?”

“Of course!” I watched him pull his shirt off, toss it to the side, and lay down on his bed. “Hey, Hiccup?”

“Hmm?”

“Can you take your metal foot off? I want to… I want to try something a little different this time.”

I couldn’t see his face, but I knew instinctively that he was blushing. “Um… why?”

“Well, since we seem to be lovers, I thought I ought to get… up close and personal with all of your body. Your left leg seems like the only spot that I haven’t gotten the chance to really explore properly.”

Hiccup sat up. “Well… yeah, but it’s all… I mean, I’m all… messed up!”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean…” He sighed, then unbuckled his leg harness. “It’s all messed up. I can’t really feel much at the end… and it’s all ugly looking.”

I shook my head. “Buttercup, you’re much too hard on yourself. You look beautiful, just the way you are…” I let my hands glide up and down his leg, then across the stump where his leg had been amputated. It was actually a pretty clean amputation, as far as I could tell. 

The skin wasn’t particularly scarred or disfigured… in fact, it had healed so well that he might have been born like that. I ran my fingers across the bottom of his leg, and slowly let a little icy magic dance across my fingers.

“Oooh, Ja-ack! That feels… so good! H-how are you doing that?”

I wiggled my eyebrows at him. “Just a little winter magic. Nothin’ too special.”

Hiccup leaned his head back as I continued to massage his leg, running my fingers up and down his thigh and what remained of his calf, letting them wander further and further up each time, until they started to disappear inside his pant leg. Before I knew it, I had completely given up massaging him and was now full-on groping him through his underwear. It was a good thing we were up in his bedroom… this would have been quite awkward if his mom, for example, or Toothless, were to walk in on us.

I could feel him get hard in my hand, and I tugged a little, loving the soft moaning sounds that he made as I squeezed and pulled. I sat up and moved over to kiss him, my hand still snaked up his pant leg as I peppered his face with small kisses and nibbles.

“Mmm… Jack…”

“Oh, my Buttercup…” I kissed him hard, suddenly overcome with neediness. I let my tongue slip out of my mouth and into his, as I moved my free hand across his bare chest. I loved his chest… All of the tiny scars, no doubt from countless adventures in the woods or on strange, distant islands… the soft auburn hairs and freckles that were scattered across his shoulders and sternum… The way the muscles under his pectorals flexed and rippled as he moved his arms. Even the way his chest rose and fell as he breathed. It was all so… entrancing. I could just watch him for days.

Suddenly, I felt Hiccup’s strong hands slip into my pants, groping me as he kissed me back. Oh god, I was so hard! When did I get hard? How did that happen? It was like I just got so aroused whenever Hiccup was nearby… It must be his scent, or maybe the way he looks at me. Those eyes, those beautiful green eyes; the soft, slightly toothy smile that was both goofy and sincere at the same time. He was beautiful. And, with a soft smile, I thought h _e’s all mine, too_!

“Hiccup!” Someone called from below. Ugh. It was his mother.

“Sorry, Valks, we’re having sex up here!” I called out. Okay, maybe I was being a little blunt, but I just wanted Hiccup all to myself. I could almost feel the heat radiate from Hiccup’s blush, though. On second thought, maybe that wasn’t the right thing for me to have said. But I heard a soft laugh from below, followed by the closing of the front door. I couldn’t believe that worked! Man, if people in the future only knew just how accepting vikings were… then again, maybe it was just this one family of vikings. Hiccup was definitely unlike any of the other villagers here in Berk… as far as I could tell, he was probably unlike any viking anywhere! So creative, so compassionate, so… skilled in the kitchen! I giggled softly to myself.

“What?” asked Hiccup, his blush subsiding.

“Oh, nothing. I was just imagining you, in the kitchen, wearing nothing but an apron.”

“Nothing but an apron? What would I be doing?”

I giggled again. I couldn’t help it. “Cooking something… something special, just for me.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Probably leftsy bread or something.”

“How many times…? It's _hardanger lefse_.”

“Yeah, that. And I’m coming home from work… whatever it is that I do, and you’re in the kitchen, butt-naked, just wearing your little apron, waiting for me.”

“And what do I say?”

“Oh, you know… ‘Oh Jack, How I’ve waited for you!” I did my best nasally Hiccup impression, and earned a grimace from Hiccup.

“What… what is that voice? I don’t sound like that.”

I laughed. “You totally do! You also do that weird thing where you start a sentence, then change your mind and say something else.”

“When have… I never do that!”

I laughed even harder. “You just did!”

“Oh shush.”

I smiled and kissed him as I slipped my pants off, then crawled into bed with him. “Hey Buttercup? Can you… can you make me yours again?”

“Make… make you mine?”

“Yeah, you know, do that thing we did back in Dragon’s Peak.”

“Dragon’s Edge.”

"Right. The thing where you put your dick up my butt?" I couldn't help it. Seeing Hiccup blush and stutter was so worth it.

"J-Jack! You d-don't have to be so… so crass!"

"You're right, I don't have to, I just _choose to_. Just so I can see your cute face turn red."

He humphed. "Fine. Well, I mean… I'd love to do that to you again. But… Aren't you sore from training? Wouldn't this make it worse?"

I shrugged. Sure, I had complained all afternoon about how uncomfortable Windchill's new saddle was and how it made my tush sore, but I was being dramatic. Honestly, I was just thrilled that her wing was healed enough for her to start flying again. "Maybe it'll make me feel better. It's just like a massage, except from the inside out."

"That's not exactly a sexy image."

"Just shut up and make me yours." I turned and slid my pants down to my knees, offering my rear end to him.

I heard him move around behind me. "Not like that. If I'm going to, as you so crudely put it, 'make you mine', I'm going to do it my way this time." I swallowed. What was _Hiccup's way_ of making love? He did seem to have an awful lot of leather jumpsuits in his closet, although he insisted they were his riding gear. "Take off the rest of your clothes, Frosty." I got completely naked, as did Hiccup, and I couldn't help but moan at the sight of him. He was just so… hot! He looked to be about as aroused as me, although he was quite a bit thicker, and had a wonderful happy trail of that beautiful auburn body hair I loved playing with. "Okay, now lay down on the bed."

I laid down on my stomach, my knees slightly bent so my butt was up in the air, but Hiccup just chuckled. "No, on your back, silly. I like being able to look into your eyes." My heart fluttered at that, and I rolled over and tucked a pillow beneath my head.

Hiccup kneeled between my legs, gently pushed them up to my chest, and slipped another pillow under my hips for support. Then he leaned down and… oh god. He took one of my nipples between his teeth and somehow, without biting, gave a gentle tug. "Hhnnggg…"

"You like that?" he asked.

"Buttercup, you could rub my ankles with your elbow and it would be sexy."

He frowned and did exactly that. It didn't really do much for me, but just to tease him I gave an over-exaggerated moan. "Oh, Hiccup! Oh, yes…"

He laughed and leaned down to kiss me. "You know, you really are the most immature person I know."

"And yet you still love me."

"Yes. I couldn't tell you why, but I absolutely do." He pulled back to slick himself up with some lube, then pushed himself against my entrance.

I jerked a little as he slid into me. It burned and stung, but not as much as the first time we did it. He slowly slid in all the way, burying himself deep in my core. It felt right, like he was filling a void inside me I didn't know was there. Despite the pain, I tapped his hips. "Come on, loverboy. Do me hard."

He raised his eyebrows at me. "Loverboy? What happened to Buttercup?"

"Hey, don't complain, or I'll combine the two and start calling you butterboy." He giggled (my favorite of the sounds he makes) and began thrusting into me. It was just as amazing as the first time we did it. Every now and then, he would angle his hips, and hit a specific spot inside me that made me see stars. "Yes! Oh, right there… m-more…" I reached down to grab myself, but Hiccup placed his hands on my arms.

"Nope. No touching yourself. That's my job right now." He made a low humming noise, and wrapped one of his hands around my erection. His hands were wet with lube, and I had to bite my lip to keep from climaxing immediately.

"Oh Hiccup…"

"Jack… My Jack."

"All yours." I couldn't help the embarrassing moans and squeaks and grunts that came out of my mouth. Hiccup was making some pretty decadent noises too. In fact, his noises were almost animalistic. He growled, purred, hummed, hissed, and groaned.

When he hit that specific spot inside me again, I came hard, and a few seconds later felt Hiccup release inside me. I felt a little guilty for not using protection, but I had a pretty strong suspicion that finding a latex rubber condom in the viking ages would be difficult.

Hiccup collapsed as his orgasm finished, his head nestled in the nape of my neck, and we spent a moment just catching our breaths. When he slid out of me, it left an empty feeling in my abdomen, but the warmth of his body when he pulled me into his arms and curled his legs around mine filled in that void with a satisfying glow.


	25. A Flurry of Gifts

"Happy Snoggletog, Jack!" I couldn't help nudging him awake. "Jack, wake up! It's Snoggletog!!!"

"Muuhh… five more minutes."

"I'll make you coffee."

"Fine." Jack tumbled out of bed. With very few exceptions, we had been sleeping together every night. Not necessarily having sex, but just sleeping, side by side. I never really thought of myself as a particularly snuggly person, but something about Jack made me just want to wrap myself around him.

I hurried downstairs, where Valka was already awake. She has been sleeping in Dad's room, which I don't know how I feel about, but it's definitely nice having a parent around. She was cooking something sweet-smelling by the hearth, and I grinned and kissed her cheek. "Happy Snoggletog, mom."

"Happy Snoggletog, Hiccup."

Toothless and Windchill were still sleeping peacefully by the fire. Ever since her wing had healed, Windchill had taken to sleeping in the living area, with Toothless by her side. I kinda missed having Toothless in my bedroom, but it did mean that I had more privacy to enjoy with Jack. And Toothless and Windchill seemed to be becoming very close. Very _very_ close.

"Um… Mom? You said that Windchill is an Arctic Sky Flurry, and that they're related to Night Furies, right? Would it… theoretically speaking, be possible for a Night Fury and a Sky Flurry to mate?"

Mom tilted her head to one side, thinking. "You know, I think it is possible. They're not the same class of dragon, but then again, there are stoker / boulder hybrids. They're roughly the same size, and have the same body type and structure. But she's still a few years away from being fully sexually mature. Female dragons take longer to get there than male dragons." She shrugged. "Toothless and her could try to mate, but she won't bear eggs yet."

I glanced over at Toothless, who was slowly waking up. He seemed happy with Windchill…

My thoughts were interrupted by Jack climbing down the stairs. "Coffee…" he moaned. 

Valka laughed and poured him a mug. "Here you go, Jackson."

"Thanks…" He focused intently on his mug as he drank it, and after a few moments I saw him start to wake up properly. "So… Presents? Do we open them now, or tonight?"

I sat down next to him and buttered up some toast. "I have a couple for you. You can open a few now, and a few tonight, after the big feast. Also…" I glanced at mom, who nodded. "I was thinking about make the announcement tonight. About changing my duties as chief."

Jack's eyes opened wide. "Tonight!?! Hiccup, that's great! I know everyone will be fine with it."

"I hope so. I'm also going to formally introduce you to the village, so you can start the process of becoming a member of the tribe. I just don't like lying to everyone about where you're from.."

Mom reached over and rubbed the back of my hand. "Truth is complicated and not always absolute. If Jackson is going to be a member of our tribe, people will ask questions. And they may not be accepting of the truthful answers. I believe that, in individual relationships, truth is always the best course, but when it comes to ruling a village… It can get complicated."

I sighed. "I know… I just don't like it."

"Part of being chief is having to do things you don't like."

I smiled. "All the more reason for me not to be chief. I mean, it's not like I'm never going to have to make tough decisions in the future, but… it's…" I struggled to find the right words.

"It's difficult when your decisions impact such a large group of people. I understand."

"Thanks, mom."

Jack nodded. "Yeah, thanks mom."

* * *

Jack and I had come up with a combined gift for mom, and after breakfast we gave it to her. It was a painting of her, dad, and me when I was an infant. It had been in storage in the great hall for years (dad didn't like having to look at it because it reminded him of the day he lost Valka), and Jack and I had spent some time dusting it off, repainting small sections where the original paint had flaked off, and giving it a coat of varnish to really make it pop. She loved it and burst into tears when we gave it to her.

"It's so beautiful… I had forgotten that this painting even existed! I know right where it should go." She removed a rack of lances from above the front door, and hung the painting in its place. From there, Dad looked down over us, and I admit I got a bit teary looking at it as well. Jack rubbed my back soothingly, and after a moment we moved on to the next set of gifts. Mom had sewn a pair of matching stuffed sheep filled with dragonnip, a white sheep for Toothless and a black sheep for Windchill. We all laughed, watching the two of them roll around with their dragonnip plushies, and after they had knocked over half the furniture in the house, we shoed them outside where they could romp freely with their new toys. Valka next gave me and Jack matching necklaces made from polished pewter. Jack's was a snowflake (of course), and mine was a Tyr-Algiz, the traditional emblem for the Haddock family. Jack and I both gave her massive hugs, and she gave us both kisses on the cheek. It seemed she was beginning to think of Jack as a son-in-law.

Then it was my turn to give Jack his first present. I had thought long and hard about what I should give him, and ultimately narrowed it down to a few items. He said he had multiple gifts for me, so I decided that we should alternate.

My first gift for Jack was a brand-new helmet. "If you're going to be a viking, you might as well have a proper helmet." He took it nervously, as if it was fragile, and beamed when he put it on. "The horns are made from Nadder tail spikes, and are virtually indestructible." I tapped on the front of it. "You're important to me, so I have to make sure you're protected."

Jack smiled and adjusted his helmet. It looked great on him, like he was a proper viking. "Now for your gift…" He handed me a large package, wrapped in parchment. "I hope you like it."

I carefully unwrapped it, and gasped. It was a new foot… a new prosthetic foot. But it was unlike any I had ever seen before. The straps were padded with wool, and the buckles were made from what looked like wicker. The whole thing was much much lighter than my current foot, and the end was… well, it looked like a smaller version of an archery bow, but made from metal, and with rounded ends. "It's a spring!" I whispered, examining it closely. It was indeed a spring, but nothing like the coiled springs in my current foot.

"It's based on a design I saw in a sprint for people who had lost limbs. It bends and flexes when you put weight on it, and should be really comfortable to wear. I worked with Gobber on the metal bits and your mom on the straps and rigging."

I unbuckled the leg that I was wearing, and slipped on my new leg. The improvement was almost immediate. The straps and buckles were much lighter and softer, and didn't clank or rattle as I experimentally walked around. The overall reduction in weight was stunning, and the way it bent and sprung back took a lot of stress off of my hips and lower back. And, perhaps most notably, the cupped area where my leg met the prosthetic had a tingling, cool feel to it. "Did you, by chance, put some of your ice magic in here?" Jack nodded, grinning. "It's perfect, Jack." I snuggled up to him and gave him a long, deep kiss. "My turn." I handed him a heavy box, and watched him open it.

"This is so cool! …What is it?" He held up the small device.

"Oh, just a little invention of my own design. Watch." I grabbed a small candle and placed it on the table, then put the device over it. It stood on three curved metal legs, and was sized to accommodate different sized candles. There was a small winding key on the side, and I gave it a couple twists, then flipped open a small cover on the top. As the device unwound, a series of lenses, prisms, and mirrors inside slowly rotated and shifted, projecting a shimmering rainbow pattern on the ceiling. "Remember when you told me how much you love watching the Northern Lights?"

"…No."

"Well, you did. And we can't see the lights during the summer, or when it's cloudy. So I made my own little version of them. We can put it upstairs, and watch the lights in the evening."

Jack squeaked and jumped into my arms. "Buttercup, this is perfect! Mmm…" He kissed me, and I swear he made extra sure we were in full view of mom.

"Not now, Jack," I laughed, as I set him down. "I have two more things for you, but they'll have to wait until later."

"Aww, no fair," Jack moaned.

* * *

After a rousing village-wide snowball fight (which featured some pretty impressive snow forts, and even a few dragons joining in), Jack and I trudged up to the great hall to defrost and have some yaknog. "Mmm, this is really good!" Jack mumbled, drinking deeply from his mug. "In my time, we have something called eggnog, but it's basically the same thing. Maybe with a bit less cinnamon. But this is delicious!"

I grinned, and reached over to wipe off the yaknog mustache he was sporting. "You should tell Mr. Ingerman, it's his recipe."

Gobber joined us at the table with a loud clatter. "Hiccup, me boy. How's yer new leg treating yeh?"

I grinned, wrapping an arm around Jack's shoulders. "It's perfect."

"I don' know where yer friend got his ideas, but we could use more o' them around here." Jack puffed out his chest proudly. "How's Windchill doin'?"

"Much better. Her wing is almost completely healed, and she's flying again. I even made a custom saddle for her! And she's been getting a bit intimate with Toothless."

"Toothless? He's… really?"

I shrugged. "It sure seems that way. I haven't had much time to ride with him, but he's been going on small flights with Windchill nearly every day. Mom even says there's a chance that the two of them could possibly mate in the future. Seems fitting. I've got Jack, and he's got Windchill."


	26. Cool Party

After we finished lunch (which involved much more viking eggnog than is probably healthy), Hiccup gave me a tour of the 'rookery' place. It was half-way down a cliff, in a secluded area that seemed nice enough. The building looked like it was half-embedded in the cliff wall, and when we stepped inside I saw why. The rookery was constructed over the mouth of a large cave. It was divided into a series of rooms, which Hiccup called 'nesting chambers', each of which was large enough for two dragons to get frisky, and had a large pit in the center. Peeking into the unused rooms, it seemed that some of the pits were lined with straw, some were bare rock, and some were filled with steaming water. The walls of the rooms seemed to be a sort of loosely-woven fiber, covered in simple tapestries.

"The wool lining protects the walls from egg shrapnel," explained Hiccup. "Almost all of the walls are all removable, so if we have larger dragons, like adult Zipplebacks or Monstrous Nightmares, they can have enough room to… to do their thing."

I couldn't help smirking. "Seems like this is one big sexhouse."

Hiccup groaned and pinched his nose. "I suppose, technically, yes, this is indeed where dragons procreate. But that's more out of convenience than anything else. It's the egg-laying and hatching that this is all intended for. Easy access to water, protection from the elements, and close enough to the village that we can bring food and supplies when needed. Of course, dragons tend to prefer to feed their own hatchlings themselves, but… well, we're here to help when it's needed."

Hiccup led me to a medium-size room where Toothless and Windchill were playing with their dragonnip toys. There was a long trough of water along one side, a raised stone platform that presumably was the bed, and a door to the outside that reminded me of a garage door. "What're Toothless and Windchill doing here?"

"Well, I asked mom, and she said that the two of them might be… uh, 'sexually compatible'. Windchill isn't old enough to have hatchlings yet, but I figured they might want some privacy this evening. You know, given how intimate they seem to have gotten. Plus…" He took me into his arms. "You and I can have the house to ourselves tonight."

"What about your mom?"

"She's throwing a sleepover party in the great hall for a bunch of children. She's really great with them."

I grinned and kissed his nose. "I can't wait for tonight."

Hiccup nodded, then turned to Toothless. "Now, bud. You don't have to do anything tonight if you don't want. But you and Windchill… well, just… have fun together. However that ends up working out." Toothless nuzzled into Hiccup's belly, then turned to Windchill. She nudged me as well with her head, then focused on Toothless.

"Don't go too crazy, girl," I muttered to her, before taking Hiccup's hand and heading out.

* * *

Back at the Great Hall, it seemed every viking in the village had turned up. The twins were entertaining people with tales of daring-do that Hiccup told me were guaranteedfabrications, and a couple of vikings I didn't know were playing music on the far side of the hall. A massive table had been set up down the middle of the massive room, and was laden with just about every kind of food I could imagine. Giant piles of roasted meat, potatoes prepared in tons of different ways, vegetables steamed, baked, broiled, grilled and raw, and five different types of salad. There were mountains of bread, barrels of different drinks, and at the end of the table I spotted my favorite part of any buffet: the desserts. I went down the line, just behind Hiccup, piling my plate with a little bit of everything. "I'll come back for the desserts," I mumbled to Hiccup through the bean cassoulet I was already munching on.

Hiccup grinned at me. "Try to pace yourself, Frosty. There's still mutton stew, the traditional cutting of the pheasant, and Snoggletog Pie."

We sat down at the long table that ran along the back of the room. It was raised up a little, and seemed to be where the village fancypeople sat. Gobber was there, as was Hiccup's mom, and an old wrinkly lady with a long walking stick. Hiccup took a deep breath, looking nervous. "What's wrong, buttercup?"

"It's time to make speeches. I really don't care for talking in front of the whole village. A few riders is one thing, a thousand grown vikings is another." I gave his leg a squeeze, and he stood. A loud gong sounded, and the hubbub of the hall died down. Hiccup cleared his throat. "H-hello, everyone! Well, it's that time of year again, Snoggletog. And I know it's been a bit of a crazy year, what with all the weather we had this summer and fall. I'm sure some of you have noticed that the snow is finally starting to clear up, and I am pleased to say that I expect the weather to continue improving, now that Windchill's injury has been treated, and she's no longer in distress. I do have a couple of announcements, so please bear with me; I'll try to keep it brief. Firstly, congratulations to our own Gustav Larson, who has won his very first inter-tribe dragon race!" There was a smattering of polite applause, and a loud groan from Snotlout. "Next, will the rider of an adult male Moldruffle, pale orange in color and with a black leather saddle, please move your dragon. He's blocking the entrance to the firewood shed. Um… Oh, I would like to invite everyone to our New Year's Celebration, which will be here in the Great Hall and will begin at sunset. The Hooligan Sailor's Chorus will be performing, so… yeah. It'll be fun. Let's see… I guess it's time for an introduction." He cleared his throat again, then nodded at me to stand up. "Many of you have already met him, but for those of you who haven't, this is Jackson Overland, also known as Snowface the Cold." I couldn't help grimacing… how long was he going to keep using that name for me? "He's visiting our village all the way from Burgess, in the far north."

I waved at everyone. "Hiya!" There was a murmur of "Hi"s back at me, and I sat back down.

"Now, before I continue, I would like to make something very clear." He pulled out his sword, and flicked a switch on the handle. The blade sprung out, and immediately caught fire. He held it up in the air for a few moments, until the fire died out, then collapsed it and stowed it. "This is not magic. This is technology. Here on Berk, we have devices to create fire. To outsiders, it probably looks like magic, or the work of the gods. But it isn't. Jack…?"

I stood again and conjured a snowball, then threw it over the crowd, where it burst into a small snow flurry. The crown almost erupted in shouting, but Hiccup managed to calm them down.

"Jack's village, Burgess, has a similar technology. They have mastered devices to conjure snow and ice, just as we conjure fire and heat." Of course, Hiccup was wrong, it _was_ magic, but he explained to me that the villagers wouldn't go for that. "Jack is going to be joining our tribe. He's… Him and I are…" Hiccup blushed, and I figured I might as well help out.

I reached out and pulled him into a massive hug and gave him a kiss on the lips, making sure everyone could see it. There were gasps and murmurs in the crowd. "Hiccup and I are dating," I said loudly, then sat back down and propped my feet up on the table.

Hiccup sported a pretty impressive blush as he cleared his throat. "R-right. Well, uh… With that out of the way, I have only one other thing to address. As you all know, as chief, I manage both the day-to-day operations of the village, as well as make critical decisions for the safety and prosperity of the tribe. I've been thinking a lot about it lately, and with some input from Jackson, I have realized something very important. For the daily operations of the tribe, I am _not_ the best suited for the role." He turned to face some of the people at the high table where we were sitting. "Spitelout, you know more about planning and inventory than anyone else. Mulch, you are the village's expert on fishing. Gobber, you are one of the most diplomatic people I know, and perhaps the friendliest. And, as we all know, you all are on the council of elders that I created this past summer, along with many others. And while each of you individually may not have the entire skillset necessary to manage running the tribe and managing the village, collectively you have more knowledge, ability, and wisdom than any individual, any chief, this tribe has ever seen. This is why I created the council in the first place. And, starting today, I have decided, for the good of the Hairy Hooligan tribe, to hand over daily operations leadership to the council. Of course, I'm not stepping down as chief, and all major decisions that affect the future of the tribe will go through me, but day-to-day, the council will be responsible for managing everything. Now, I know a lot of you probably have concerns about this, and I understand that it's a big change for everyone. That is why I'll be holding a Question and Answer session this Thor's-day in the village square. Okay?"

There was a murmur throughout the crowd. Some people looked nervous, but the overall consent seemed to be one of agreement. "Then it's decided. And, with that out of the way, let the feast begin!" Hiccup sat down, looking exhausted but happy.

I reached down and took his hand in mine, under the table. "You did it, buttercup." He nodded, and we began eating.


	27. A Thaw-tful Ending

After Jack and I finished eating, the village musicians started playing. The area where the buffet tables had been was cleared out to form a dance floor, and I tugged Jack toward it. "May I have this dance, sir?"

He grinned. "Oh, if I must."

The crowd parted somewhat to make room for us. There was a whisper going around about how unorthodox it was for a chief to be, as Jack would put it, 'gay', but I ignored them. After all, riding dragons is a bit unorthodox too, isn't it? The music that the musicians were playing was a soft ballad that I vaguely recognized, and I pulled Jack close. His beautiful blue eyes sparkled in the candlelight. "Shall I lead?" I asked, and he nodded, placing his hands over my shoulders.

"Hiccup… Thank you."

"For what?"

"For everything. For making me happy, for giving me a life here… for being my boyfriend. For 'us'."

I nuzzled against his cheek. "You're very welcome, my sexy viking." He somehow managed to snuggle into me while still dancing, more or less in time with the music. "And in a bit, my sexy Hooligan."

"Eh… I'm not in a huge hurry to do the tribe joining thingy. I just want to be with you. Like, a couple."

I did a little spin as part of the dance. "Sounds good to me. What's most important is that we're together."

* * *

We continued dancing for most of the evening, until they brought out desserts. Jack insisted on sampling one of everything.

"MMff! Foo good!" he mumbled, around a cookie.

"You do realize that you're going to make yourself sick, right?"

"Fffuff…" he scoffed (I think it was a scoff, it was hard to tell with so much food in his mouth).

"You'll regret it later."

* * *

When the party finally ended, I half-carried Jack back to my (our?) house. He was moaning and listingheavily to one side. "Hi-ic… Bluhh…"

"I did warn you." He looked like he was half-asleep already. "You did realize that the karsk has alcohol in it, right?"

"The kark… what?"

"What you so elegantly called 'coffee smudge'. It's made from fermented potatoes."

"Ughh…"

He stumbled a bit, and I lifted him into my arms, carrying him bridal-style. "C'mon, you. Let's get you in bed."

"Eeh?" He raised an eyebrow, presumably trying to be seductive, but failing.

"Bed, sleep. Sex tomorrow, okay?"

"Mmm… kay."

I kissed him on the lips. He tasted sweet, but still had that ever-present minty flavor. "Love you."

"Love you too…" He was asleep before we even got home. I carried him up the stairs, laid him in bed, and carefully removed his clothes. After stripping down myself as well, I climbed in next to him.

* * *

In the morning, Jack somehow woke up first. When I opened my eyes, all I could see was a poof of white hair on my chest. He was kissing my belly. "Um… Jack? What are you doing?"

He looked up at me. "Good morning, mister. I'm kissing your stomach."

"Yeah, I can see that. Why, though?"

He stuck his tongue into my bellybutton, making me squirm. "I woke up with a stomach ache. I figured you would too, so my plan was to preemptively make it feel better."

"But my stomach feels fine. I didn't eat nearly as much as you did last night."

Jack rolled onto his back. "Then you kiss my belly!"

I laughed and climbed closer, rubbing his stomach. "Aww, is your tummy still grumpy, big baby boo?" I nuzzled my nose into his neck.

"And you keep accusing _me_ of being the immature one."

I nibbled gently on his ear. For whatever reason, I was feeling awfully affectionate that morning. "I never gave you your last few gifts."

"Oh?" He sat up. "Oh yeah! You mentioned that you had a couple more things you wanted to give me."

I rooted around under the bed, then pulled out a small box. "Happy Snoggletog, Jack."

He opened the box, and pulled out the first item. "What's this?"

"It's oil. Remember when you said you wanted to oil me up? This jug should last at least a few months."

Jack beamed, then pulled out the other item in the box. "Hiccup… Is this a joke?"

"N-no! No joke." I nodded at the pair of panties he was holding. "You said you wanted to try on some girl clothing, so I got you some. There's a skirt and blouse in there, too. Brand new, and they should be the perfect size. Try them on!"

Jack blushed, his normally pale face flushing red. "B-but…"

"C'mon, Jack. I want to see you in them. Please?"

He sighed and stood. He was still wearing the plain white underwear that he wore yesterday, and when he bent over to take them off, it seemed that he went out of his way to show off his rear to me. "Okay, here we go." He slipped into the new panties, which were red and silky, then put on the skirt. It was a pale blue, and barely reached his knees. Then the blouse, which was white and had little lacy bits along the buttons. It had been interesting convincing the seamstress to sell them to me, but in the end she just shrugged and handed them over. "How do I look?" He turned to face me, and I instantly became hard.

The skirt was extremely form-fitting, and short enough that I could clearly see his panties beneath them. The panties were also quite tight, and showed off his considerable bulge. Every detail of his anatomy was visible through the sheer fabric, and he swayed his hips sexily as he climbed onto the bed, straddling me. "Jack…" My voice came out sounding much more strained than I expected, and I realized just how aroused I had become. Some of it may have been due to it being morning, but looking at Jack was really getting me hot and bothered.

"You like?"

I nodded. "I-I like." He spread his legs a little and sat on me, his knees on either side of my chest and his butt pushing down on my arousal. The skirt slid up a little on his hips, showing off his new underpants. I couldn't help moaning. "J-Jack…"

He rocked his hips a little, grinding against me, a playful smirk slowly replacing his blush. "Buttercup…"

I reached down and grabbed him through the soft, smooth fabric. He was rock hard and straining at the seams of the panties. I rubbed my palm against him as he rocked his hips harder. It seemed as if he was thrusting directly into my hand…

With a sudden "Hic!', he came, a big wet spot spreading across the fabric of his new clothes. I came a moment later, my hips suddenly bucking into him.

"Ja-ack…" I pulled him down to kiss him, and he collapsed against my chest, breathing heavily.

"Buttercup…" He stroked my chest hair. "Hiccup, I love you so much."

"I love you too, Frosty."

* * *

So that is Berk. It's a rocky, muddy spit of land in the middle of a savage ocean. The villagers are odd, as are our customs. But we have two things that truly set us apart: We have our dragons, and I have my winter spirit. And whatever the future may bring, I know that Toothless, Windchill, Jack, and I will all face it together. Lovers, Best Friends, and Family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for coming on this journey with me. This story has a special place in my heart, as it was the very first story I ever worked on during National Novel Writing Month (which is November, if you're curious). I spent more time working on this story than any other fanfic I've written before, and I hope it shows. I had so much fun writing this, and I hope you had just as much fun reading it.
> 
> My next project is going to be an original story, with the working title of "Dare To Get Wet". It's (of course) a gay romance story, with elements of adventure and magical realism. And plenty of fluff and smut. I'm starting a newsletter for people interested in receiving updates about it; you can sign up here: http://eepurl.com/cX-24n
> 
> Thanks again for coming on this HiJack'd adventure with me!


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